Falleretque Perfectus
by The Lady Mage
Summary: An impromptu away mission to a planet that should have been drained of its resources years ago, but isn't, may take a little longer than a week, and Voyager is light-years away. At least the planet seems fairly hospitable, right, guys? Right? C/7, B/P COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: Welcome to my first Star Trek: Voyager fanfiction! I've loved the show for years, but never had a decent idea on what to write about it. Dove headfirst into rewatching the series a few weeks ago, and I haven't been able to get this idea out of my head. I think I have a few unconventional ideas about some of the relationships within the show, and they're probably going to show the longer this goes on, so expect a little bit of OOC behavior, but I hope I do them justice. Thank you so much to my lovely friends (You know who you are!) who have listened to me obsess and analyze for weeks! Love you!**

 **Obligatory Legal Disclaimer: Of course I don't own them, or we would be in California right now dyeing Robert Beltran's hair back to black and scouting out the rainforest for filming.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Please review!**

 **XXX**

CHAPTER 1

"It is an M-Class planet. Astrometrics scans show no sign of humanoid lifeforms. The northern hemisphere is mountainous and has an area approximately 7.8 million square kilometers in diameter that our scanners suggest to be rich in deuterium." The picture of the green and blue planet on the viewing screen inside Voyager's briefing room spun to highlight a large chunk of its northern-most continent. Seven of Nine's metal-tipped fingers danced across the console on the wall, bringing up the planet's specs beside its swirling display. "There is also evidence of dilithium crystals several meters below the crust that may prove worthy of procuring if we can find an efficient means of excavating the crystals without destroying them in the process."

Harry Kim pointed to the highlighted section of the planet. "Conveniently, the dilithium and deuterium deposits are concentrated on this continent." He smiled. "So we can potentially harvest both in one go."

"It looks like Earth." commented Chakotay from his seat near the Captain's chair. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. "And you said it has no humanoid life? No civilization of any kind?"

"No." Seven pulled up a magnified geographical scan. "Scans do not show any evidence of civilization. The planet has water and plant life, as well as multi-cellular fauna, but no bipedal humaoids. There is no pollution associated with any kind of industrial processes present."

"Wait." Tom raised an eyebrow, letting go of B'Elanna's hand to gesture incredulously. "You're telling me that you two found an uninhabited, unpolluted, M-Class planet rich in both deuterium and dilithium, smack-dab in the middle of the Delta Quadrant, not five lightyears outside of an industrialized binary star system? Is it rich in latinum, too?"

"When we hosted the Tinvarians last week, did they mention this little gem?" Chakotay turned to look at the Captain, sitting relaxed in her chair at the table's head.

The Captain shook her head once, drawing her hand up to her mouth, her expression pensive. The Tinvarians were an altruistic people, but hadn't been very eager to share too much information about their world or culture. "No. Not a peep." she answered. "...They seemed well traveled." She cut her eyes to Chakotay's. "Surely they have noticed this star system as close as it is to their own."

"The Tinvarians most likely do have knowledge of this system, Captain." Tuvoc chimed in. "The flight plan they provided us to reach their sister system leads us around it."

"A system that is full of warp-capable races that likely also use deuterium in some form to power their ships." Kathyrn drummed her fingers across her chin. The whole thing was definitely a bit suspicious. "Surely if it was their territory, they would have mentioned it seeing as we are going near it."

"Or that could be why the flight plan leads us in an arc around it." commented Chakotay, lacing his fingers together on the table. "It isn't as if the Tinvarians were very forthcoming about themselves."

"But you'd think they'd mention the shiny gold mine next door." Tom frowned.

"Sounds just a little too good to be true." B'Elanna muttered as she crossed her arms. "Why hasn't anyone come along and sucked it dry by now?"

"Unknown." Seven lifted the stack of PADDs left at her seat and handed them out to the other officers.

"Could be blind luck." commented the Doctor, quickly scanning over the information presented to him.

"Sometimes that's the only luck you need." Kathryn set her PADD down on the table in front of her to address her senior officers. "This definitely merits a little exploration."

Tuvoc raised one eyebrow. "Captain, we are due to arrive at Tinvari II in seven days."

"That doesn't give us much time." laughed Chakotay. "We would have all of an hour to explore." He turned his eyes to Harry and Seven at the display. "How far out off course is this little diamond in the rough?"

"From where we are now, it would take four days to detour- two to get there and two to get back on track." answered Harry. He met the Captain's eyes. "But if our scans are correct-"

"They _are_ correct." Seven interrupted.

Harry smiled at her, amused, before turning his attention back to his Captain imploringly. "There is enough deuterium on that planet to totally refill all the tanks- you could power seven Voyagers for a hundred light-years easily with the deuterium under that mountain range."

"We could take the Flyer." said Tom, sitting forward excitedly. "A handful of us could hang back and take a sample while the rest of you meet with the Officials on Tinvari II. We could rendezvous back here after your meeting. By then we should know if its all too good to be true or not. We could make it on the Flyer for a week."

"Good idea, Tom." Kathryn said with a smile. "Am I to take it that you would be volunteering?"

"I'd take a vat of leola root stew over another Cleansing Ceremony." Tom muttered, then glanced apologetically at his superiors. "No offense."

"None taken." Chakotay chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever been naked in church."

Seven set her PADD down beside Kathryn's. "Captain, permission to accompany Mr. Paris on this excursion?"

Kathryn smiled, proud that Seven was volunteering. "Granted." She laughed, her eyes moving to meet every other set in the room. "Anyone else?" Kathryn asked, standing up from her chair with excited flourish. "Tom, Seven, go gather all the supplies you need. I want you ready to head out by 1600 hours." She clapped a hand on her First Officer's shoulder. "Chakotay, why don't you join them? The more minds at it, the better."

"I should go as well, Captain." B'Elanna volunteered. "I can make sure that the deuterium can be processed at the concentration we need for our systems."

"Uh, Captain?" Harry only had to look pleadingly at his Captain to be awarded by her smile and nod. "Thank you, Captain."

"It's settled, then." said Kathryn. "If that's all... Dismissed."

 **XXX**

The shuttle bay was brightly lit and abuzz with activity as Tom and Harry carried the last cases of tools and supplies into the Flyer's cabin. Tom grunted with the effort to shove the last case into the storage locker. "Good grief, Seven, what's in this one? Cement?"

The ex-drone turned her head to peer curiously at him over her shoulder from where she stood in the Flyer's small midsection. "Why would we need to bring cement?" She pushed the terminal door shut over the replicator and turned to the two men standing behind her.

"No, Seven, I didn't mean-" Tom started to explain.

"Are we all set to go?" Chakotay called out as he stepped inside, his overnight case slung over his shoulder. He smiled at his crewmates, setting the case in the locker with the others. "We are going to be away from Voyager for at least twelve days. Now is the time to double check you have your security blankies and toothbrushes."

"We're ready as we'll ever be, Commander." said Harry. He smiled, excited.

"Good." said Chakotay. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get those samples!"

"Eager, much?" asked B'Elanna from her place beside Seven, affixing the panel in place with her tool. "You act like we're going on vacation."

"Compared to another day with the Tinvarians? Ha!" Chakotay laughed. "Don't tell the Captain, but if she hadn't asked me to accompany you, I would have volunteered!" He clapped Tom on the shoulder. "I've had all the church I think I can stand for one lifetime. The Great Shrine of Tindan is drafty!"

"Oh really?" Tom clapped his hands together with a teasing smirk. "Why don't you tell us all about it?"

"Another time, maybe." Chakotay clapped a hand on the disappointed man's shoulder. "Now, let's get those system checks done so we can launch."

"Already finished, Commander." said Seven, holding out a PADD his way.

"I think we can all agree to drop ranks while we are on this mission, crewman." Chakotay took the PADD from her hands with a smile, brushing his thumb across her's as he did. A smirk turned her lips for a second or two before she turned back to assist B'Elanna, stepping aside for Harry and Tom to pass her into the cockpit.

"As you wish."

"I think this is in order now, Seven." B'Elanna said, handing the tool to the blonde before turning to go into the cockpit. "I'm going to help Tom and Harry with pre-launch."

"Alone at last." Chakotay mumbled as the door slid shut behind the half-Klingon, setting the PADD on the nearest case. He ran his hand down Seven's arm, taking her metal-laced hand and gently pulling her to him. "In such a small shuttle, that will be a luxury." He kissed her cheek. "Interesting place for a date, hmm?"

The blonde nodded with a teasing smile. "Anything less would be unacceptable."

"Well, then I'm glad I meet your expectations." With another quick kiss- this time on the mouth- he released her. "Ready?"

"Let's go."

 **XXX**

 **Please review!**

 **~The Lady Mage~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: Two chapters in one go! I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it! Shoutout to my betas! (Hi, Kourtney! Hi, Kristy!) This chapter has other languages in it, and I am in no way fluent. Feel free to correct my tense.**

 **Thanks so much for reading!**

 **Obligatory Legal Disclaimer: Of course I don't own anything! If I did, we would be working on the relaunch right now. Voyager II, here we come!**

 **Please review!**

 **XXX**

CHAPTER 2

The smell of burning circuitry and ozone were the first things to catch her attention, followed by the sharp throb of pain in her temple, the puff of condensation as her hot breath hit the cold air, and a burning sensation down the length of her cybernetic leg. A groan of pain sounded near her hip. A ragged cough broke the silence farther back in the shuttle. Seven opened her eyes with a soft groan, and assessed her surroundings in confusion. ' _What happened?_ ' The tactical console she was sprawled beneath sparked, its circuits crackling loudly in the near silence of the damaged cockpit, making her wince with the sharp sound.

"B'-... -'Lanna...?" Tom choked out from somewhere near the bow.

"I'm here, Tom. I'm okay.. The baby is okay." B'Elanna answered to Seven's right, slowly sitting up, rubbing her head where she had apparently hit it in the crash. " _Soch?_ " The half-Klingon coughed, her eyes scrolling around the room. "Chakotay? Harry?"

"They're in the back." Tom pushed the dislodged Conn off his legs, and began slowly crawling his way over to the two women. "Man, the Flyer took a beating this time.. My poor baby."

"Forget your precious ship for a minute, Flyboy." B'Elanna caught sight of Seven's prone form, and the grimace of pain on her pale face. "Seven, are you hurt?"

Tom's attention was immediately drawn to Seven's bleeding temple, and her leg that was turned at an odd angle. "Can you move your leg?"

"I do not believe so." Seven answered, biting her lip to hold in a hiss of pain.

Behind them, the door to the midsection groaned loudly, its seam slowly coming apart. "Hello?" Chakotay's rich baritone was a half octave lowered, roughened by the smoke that was now wafting into the cockpit from the slit in the doors.

"We're here, Chakotay!" B'Elanna and Tom rushed to help him with the doors, each grabbing a side and pulling. Between the three of them, they managed to wedge the door open enough for Chakotay to brace it with a bar that had belonged to the line of lockers behind the midsection.

"Where's Harry?" Tom asked, pulling a med kit from its storage locker at the rear of the cockpit. He returned with it to Seven's side, and pulled the tricorder out to scan her. He ran the little blinking device over her bleeding temple before concentrating on her leg.

"He's unconscious." Chakotay crouched on the other side of Seven, assessing her wounds for himself. "I'm pretty sure he has a broken arm. There's a piece of the locker doors embedded in it."

"I'll go check on him." B'Elanna slipped through the doors.

"Looks like you twisted your leg pretty bad." Tom ran the tricorder over Seven's thigh. "No broken bones. Are you sure you can't move it?"

The ex-drone gave him a glowering look. " _Nej._ " She grabbed the tricorder from his hands and reconfigured it with a few harsh clicks of her fingertips. She then put it back in his hands. "It is not the human tissue that is damaged."

Tom ran the reconfigured tricorder over Seven's leg, grimacing at the reading. "Looks like one of your implants needs to be repaired."

"Can you do it?" Chakotay asked. "I doubt Voyager was in range enough to have received our distress call, and if they did it would still be two days before they could get here to rescue us." He looked down at Seven's face. "That's a long time to wait for the Doctor."

Tom ran the scanner once again over Seven's leg. "Ah." he mumbled. The tricorder was put away, and another tool plucked from the med-kit. "...Just a slight adjustment."

Under the tight blue biosuit, Seven's leg continued burning so red-hot that she feared it may catch fire. "Hurry." She grit her teeth, her hands clenching, digging into the carpet on other side of her. "Please." She hissed in a breath when Tom ran another tool over her leg, propping up on her elbows to see what he was doing. The burning increased with the movement.

"Just lay back." Tom gently pushed Seven to lay flat. "I'm going to have to cut your biosuit to access your hip implant. That's where the damage is."

In the aft section, B'Elanna found Harry propped up against a bulkhead, still unconscious, with his forearm hanging at an unnatural angle. His suit jacket was torn where a piece of one locker door was bent around and piercing through the soft flesh of his arm. With careful steps around the dislodged mayhem that littered the floor, B'Elanna made her way to her injured crewmate, and crouched in front of him to check his arm. She had just reached out to touch Harry's shoulder when a loud scream of pain from the cockpit startled her enough to make her lose her balance. She landed on her bottom before scrambling back through the jumbled mess to the cockpit door.

"Shit! Hold her still, Chakotay!" Tom ordered, keeping Seven's injured leg as still as he could while he held the tiny laser screwdriver up to the slit he'd had to make in the skin around Seven's implant. "I'm sorry, Seven!"

Chakotay took hold of Seven's hands, leaning down over her enough to hold her still. "He's almost done- you have to hold still!" He tried to sound both comforting and authoritative.

" _Davang ghaH?!_ " B'Elanna asked, half horrified. Seven's biosuit was ruined from the hip down, cut away to bare her thigh and the mottled patch of skin that surrounded a starburst-shaped implant, not unlike the one that decorated the side of her face. Between two points of the starburst was a deep cut that revealed the depth of the implant, embedded into the muscle tissue and bone.

" _Nej! Lat mig ga!_ " Seven yelled, struggling. "Chakotay, _få det att sluta!_ "

"Just one more... There!" Tom worked as fast as he dared. There had only been two times he had ever witnessed the doctor working on any of the technology that wove itself through Seven's body, and neither time had anything to do with her leg. Almost finished, he looked at his wide-eyed wife. "B'Elanna, hand me that dermal regenerator!"

B'Elanna sprung into action, quickly grabbing up the device that had been kicked away from him while Seven struggled, and shoving it into Tom's hands.

"Just a few more seconds, Seven!" Tom practically threw the laser screwdriver away, and held the dermal regenerator over the cut he had made. The glowing red light slowly began the process of bringing the organic tissue back together.

Chakotay tucked one of Seven's hands beneath him to free one of his own, and used it to cup her face, turning it towards his. "Seven, _mírame!_ " Her eyes were wild, darting around the cockpit, but flashed to meet his when he spoke. " _Se que duele_ , but you have to lay still. He's almost finished!" He glanced at Tom as the field medic finished sealing the wound.

As soon as Tom dropped the dermal regenerator, Chakotay released Seven. The ex-drone sat up in one fluid movement, and brought her hand hard across Tom's cheek. The sound of the slap carried in the small space behind the consoles, loud and abrupt, sobering them after the hectic field surgery. Tom, B'Elanna, and Chakotay froze in surprise; Seven scampered backwards until her back was against Chakotay's chest, stopping only when she was practically in his lap. Her breath came in heaving half sobs as she began to calm herself, pulling the ruined rag that was the bottom of her biosuit closed to cover where her injury had been, as if hiding it would make the last ten minutes not have happened.

"You're welcome." Tom shook his head in pain, rubbing his reddening cheek with his hand.

B'Elanna shoved Tom's shoulder, her expression both incredulous and angry. "What the hell was that about?"

"I couldn't have fixed it any other way." Tom defended, holding his arms out in surrender. "The hypospray in this med kit is malfunctioning- I thought I had injected her leg-" He grabbed up the broken instrument, and held it out to B'Elanna. "-but it didn't give her anything." He looked at Seven who was quickly trying to compose herself, curled in a ball against Chakota's chest. "I'm so sorry!"

Seven shook her head, the ends of her blonde hair tickling the sides of her face where it had fallen out of her customary twist. " _Forlat_ \- I'm sorry I hit you." She glanced up at Chakotay's face. "And required restraining."

" _De nada._ " said Chakotay, rubbing his hands up and down her arms as he finally took in the destruction around him. The consoles that were still lit flashed with the fluctuating power. Ops was cracked and smoking, releasing a shower of sparks every few minutes. The viewport was dark, buried under some kind of foliage. Anything that hadn't been secured- and most of what had been- littered the floor beneath and around them. "We need to start worrying about the state of the Flyer."

"Hell of a landing, Tom." commented B'Elanna, moving to the nearest lit console to try to perform a diagnosis. Seven followed her example, tenderly putting weight on her leg as Chakotay helped her to stand.

"Better go see to Harry now, Tom." Chakotay prompted, taking to his own feet, and picking a broken console. He winced at the shower of sparks as he jerked the wires out from under Tactical's sparking interface. "Looks like we may be here a while."

"That's an understatement." hissed the half-Klingon, slamming her hands down on the ops console in frustration. " _ghay'cha!_ We have no thrusters, no stabilizers, a useless warp coil, and multiple stress fractures along the hull. We are stuck here until Voyager can come back for us."

"So, what, ten days here? And that's if Voyager didn't receive our distress signal when we crashed." Tom quickly gathered up the medical supplies he would need to tend to Harry. "Any way we can set up some sort of secondary distress beacon? Maybe Voyager isn't quite out of range yet."

"Communications are down- or hadn't you noticed?" said Seven with a frustrated sigh.

"Is it?" asked Chakotay, his expression curious. He looked at the ex-drone. " _¿Tu hablas ingles?_ I thought your parents would have spoken Swedish."

"I was Borg, Commander." returned the blonde, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I am fluent in thousands of different languages and dialects. English is merely one of them." She grinned at him, tucking her loose hair behind her ears. "Do you not realize that you keep lapsing into Spanish?"

" _¿Que hice?_ " Chakotay frowned as Seven chuckled quietly.

B'Elanna gave the ex-drone a surprised look at the sound. It wasn't every day that Seven smiled- let alone, laughed. Of course, she'd never seen the blonde woman in such a panicked state that she'd required restraining, either- not since she had been fully liberated from the Collective anyway. "This should be an interesting week." She muttered to herself. "Five people, four languages."

"Hey, B'Elanna, I could use a hand back here!" Tom's voice sounded from the cabin. "Bring me another med-kit, would ya?"

" _lu._ " said the half-Klingon. She pulled the spare med-kit from its compartment along the back wall.

When it was just the two of them, Chakotay gently pulled Seven around to face him, letting her lean her weight on him and off her leg. " _¿Estás herida, querida?_ "

"Bad memories.." Her mind jumped from the shuttle to the dark sickbay on the Equinox and back. She shuddered. "I'm fine now." Seven mumbled into his black uniform jacket, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "I doubt we can salvage this shuttle, Chakotay. We are most definitely stranded until Voyager returns for us."

"Well, so we get to camp out for ten days." Chakotay tried to lighten her mood, his voice light-hearted but soft, whispering in her ear close enough that his breath tickled her neck. "Too bad we don't have a working replicator- we could have roasted _malvaviscos_." Seven snorted. "Or hotdogs on a stick."

"Maybe some other time _._ " returned the blonde, her voice still muffled by his jacket. "Unless you believe that you can roast rations over a fire with edible results."

A disgusted scowl twisted the commander's face at the thought. "They already taste burnt before you cook 'em." he groused.

That comment earned him a smile as Seven lifted her head, and stepped back onto her own feet. The spell was gone seconds later as a pained groan from the cabin tempered them. "We should check on Harry." whispered Seven, turning towards the stern.

Chakotay grabbed her before she could move away, spinning her around long enough to press his lips to her's. When she raised her eyebrow at him in amusement, he smirked. "Let's go."

Harry was in better shape than Seven had been, sitting against the bulkhead, cradling his injured arm to his chest while Tom scanned him with the tricorder. The piece of metal had missed major veins and arteries, but snapped the bone in two like a twig.

"Let's see if this hypospray wants to work with us tonight." commented Tom, twirling the instrument in his finger before injecting Harry's neck.

"W-Wait- what's that supposed to mean?" Harry ground out through clenched teeth, his eyes wide and focused on his injury.

"You do not want to know." Seven answered, lifting the overturned table up onto its legs where it blocked her way. She glowered at the mess in the room, already dreading having to reorganize the space. A small tornado would have done less damage.

"Wait, what does _that_ mean?" Harry whimpered before the sedation kicked in, knocking him out once more.

"Can ya patch him up, Doc?" asked Chakotay, watching Tom examine Harry's now limp arm. "Or do we need to operate?"

"Eh, nothing a good regenerator can't fix." Tom directed the instrument to Harry's arm, watching the bone slowly begin to re-knit together. He carefully extracted the bent piece of metal as it began to be pushed from the wound, turning it over in his hands. "Think he will want to keep this as a souvenir?"

"I'm sure he will never want to see that _baQa'_ piece of metal again." remarked B'Elanna, standing to begin picking up the chaotic mess around them.

By the time Tom had finished fixing Harry's arm, B'Elanna, Seven, and Chakotay had the floor cleared, and the cases restacked in the opened locker space.

"It looks like this is all we can do for now." announced Chakotay, hands on hips taking in their progress. "It's still nighttime here. We should turn everything off and try to get some sleep. We can regroup in the morning, and start to sort this whole mess out. Maybe we can even get something up and running."

"Sounds good to me." Tom replied, gently pushing the still unconscious Harry Kim to lay down. With Harry stable, he jumped up to help Chakotay and Seven pull sleeping mats out of the compartment beneath the lockers- the only creature comfort available to them in the wreckage.

 **XXX**

B'Elanna was the first awake, her eyes uncooperative. She pulled the blanket tighter around her neck to stave off the deep chill in the room. Without the life support systems, the cabin's temperature was ambient to whatever was outside. Apparently, outside was around one degree Celsius. Tom was curled up against her back, lending her his warmth while he snored softly. There was just enough light filtering into the cabin from the cockpit's windscreen to illuminate the room, but not enough to rouse the others. ' _It isn't quite daylight yet..._ '

With a soft groan, a few strong kicks from the baby in her womb, and the realization that sleep was not coming back to take her, B'Elanna forced her eyes open. It took her only seconds to adjust to the low level of light, and realize that she was face to face with a sleeping Seven of Nine, and a fully awake Chakotay directly behind her. This was the most peaceful she had ever seen the ex-drone, her face softened by inexpression, hair down and framing eyelids trimmed in long, blonde lashes, painted over dark red lips.

She glanced down between them to untangle her arms from her blanket, and was surprised to see that Chakotay had his arm slung over the blonde's waist, holding her torso tight to his own, as he stared off into the corner deep in thought. His hand was over her previously injured hip atop the blanket they were sharing, his thumb gently stroking back and forth over where Tom had made his incision.

"Getting mighty handsy, there, Chakotay." B'Elanna smirked when the commander jumped at the intrusion of her whispering voice in the quiet cabin. When he met her eyes, she glanced down at his arm.

Chakotay scowled lightly, but left his arm where it was. "It's cold." he commented off-handedly. "Or hadn't you noticed?"

"Oh, I noticed." returned the half-Klingon in a whisper, eyeing Chakotay's other arm pillowed beneath Seven's head. "Did her head get cold, too?"

"B'Elanna..." Though his voice was a whisper, the warning was there.

"Okay, okay." consented B'Elanna. Her smirk continued to grace her lips as she took in the unexpected sight laying in front of her. As if disturbed by the sound of voices, Seven frowned before turning over, tucking herself into Chakotay's arms with an unconscious familiarity. "Are the rumors true, then?"

"Pardon?" Chakotay whispered, his arm slung over Seven's back now. "What rumors?"

"You know what rumors, Chakotay." The half-Klingon engineer rolled her eyes. "It's only been buzzing all over the ship." She smiled. "I can't say I'm not surprised. The same could have been said about Tom and me, and now look at us."

"This doesn't leave the cabin." The commander refused to outright acknowledge anything, but neither did he deny. "It's the last thing either of us needs- for the whole crew to rubberneck-"

"My lips are sealed."

"Good. Keep them that way, would you?"

Seven sighed in her sleep, "...Chakotay?..."

" _Buenos días, sol._ " he murmured, turning his attention down to the half-asleep blonde curled against his chest. She smiled up at him with closed eyelids, nodded once, and relaxed back into sleep.

"What time do you think it is?" B'Elanna's voice was still a whisper, but it washed over Seven like a bucket of cold water, fully rousing her. The ex-drone jerked, turning from Chakotay's arms as she remembered where she was. "Sorry- I didn't mean to wake you."

Seven sat up, pushing the blanket away and scooting out of the warmth of Chakotay's embrace. " _Det är okej._ " she said, finally turning to look down at the woman beside her. "I mean... It's alright."

"Cat's out of the bag, cariño." Chakotay whispered, reaching out and pulling the blonde back down against him, and throwing the blanket over them both. "You may as well relax while we can." He tightened his arm over her stomach, and looped his other beneath her head as it had been, showing her he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Cat?" Seven had to turn her head to see his amused expression over her shoulder from where he held her facing B'Elanna.

B'Elanna chuckled softly. "It's a turn of phrase." she whispered as Tom slung an unconscious arm over her rounded belly.

"B'Elanna knows." Chakotay sighed, leaning down to place a quick kiss on Seven's ear before he resettled down behind her to try and go back to sleep.

"B'Elanna, please do not-" Seven's widened blue eyes met B'Elanna's soft brown.

"It's okay." reassured the brunette. "Your secret is safe with me." She gave the startled woman's hand what she hoped was a sisterly pat. "Does the Captain know?"

"No." Seven shook her head, trying to relax with much difficulty. Her position against the gentle rise and fall of Chakotay's chest, warm from her head to her toes, was as comfortable as she had ever been, but her apprehension refused to abate. "We haven't told anyone."

"Tom and I tried to be quiet at first, too." murmured B'Elanna, finally getting comfortable enough to reattempt sleep. "But everything comes out eventually."

"Unfortunately."

" _Sueño, querida..._ " Chakotay mumbled, pulling Seven tighter to him, burying his face in her soft hair. " _...mañana día ocupado..._ "

 **XXX**

"...Seven... Seven... Wake up..."

The next time Seven blinked her eyes open, sunlight streamed brightly into the cabin from the open door to the cockpit. The other sleep mats had been tucked back into their cubby hole, the blankets refolded beside them. Chakotay and B'Elanna were standing on either side of the hatch, trying to get power rerouted to open it. Harry was crouched beside an exposed relay in the far wall, laser screwdriver in his hand, counting wires. Tom was squatted down in front of her, tricorder in his hand. He gave her a friendly smile, offering her a hand up. She ignored it, sitting up and shoving the blanket back herself, trying and failing to keep the blush off her face.

"Why did no one wake me?" she asked, hurriedly getting to her feet to put her bedding away.

Tom stood beside her. "Because we figured you needed the extra sleep after last night." He winced at the thought, rubbing his cheek in phantom pain. "Still very sorry about that."

"It was necessary." Was her only reply, shoving the thin sleep pad back into its cubby. When she stood up, she took in the state of her biosuit. The rip across her hip had lengthened in the night, now stretching up to her waist, and down to her mid-thigh.

Tom followed her eyes. "Yeah, you're gonna need a new one of those." He commented. "It must have ripped in your sleep."

B'Elanna barely snorted. "Right." Chakotay gave her a dark look, erasing the teasing mirth from her face. She turned to the pile of cases by the lockers. "This hatch isn't opening without a little more muscle than I have. I'll help you dig your case out, Seven."

"I didn't bring an extra biosuit..." Seven mumbled, crossing her arms. "I had planned on using the replicator..."

"Oh." B'Elanna frowned. "Well, you could borrow a pair of my pants but I don't think they would fit you right now." She affectionately pat her baby bump.

"There should be spare clothes in the bottom compartment of the lockers, next to where the blankets were." said Tom, opening said compartment and digging out a handful. Seven accepted the bundle, turning and heading into the privacy of the cockpit to change.

"Tom, see if you can't get this damn thing to budge." Chakotay gestured to the manual overrides on either side of the hatch. "On my mark... go!" With a banging click that reverberated through the shuttle, and the loud groaning squeak of metal on metal, the hatch finally began to open. Harry and B'Elanna quickly joined them in pushing the heavy metal door down until it was level with the ground outside. "That's better."

Outside, the air was temperate- at least thirty-five degrees warmer than it had been overnight. A three hundred meter gash in the ground revealed where they had crashed and skidded. Dozens of downed trees outlined the crater, splintered and crushed from the violent fall. Where the shuttle came to a stop, dirt and flora were shoved into a forced clearing around them, encircling them in a teardrop of destruction.

Seven, rejoining them in a pair of grey sweatpants and a dark blue tshirt, looked out in awe. "Well, _no hay leña para tus malvaviscos, cariño._ "

Chakotay let out a loud guffaw. " _Sí Sí. Mucho._ "

"You weren't joking when you said the translators were down." Harry commented, looking back and forth between Chakotay and Seven. "When did you learn Spanish, Seven?"

The blonde didn't look at him, her attention still surveying the crater from her spot beside Chakotay. "I am Borg."

"Ah. Right." Harry said awkwardly, rolling his eyes.

"We aren't alone." Chakotay pointed to the ground around the shuttle. Dozens of animal tracks were pressed into the forcefully aerated dirt. "Something with hooves has been sniffing us out." The tracks came from one side of the crater, circled, and trailed off the opposite way. "Some kind of deer-like animal maybe?"

"Whatever." B'Elanna grabbed her toolbox. "Let's get started on these repairs so we can get some power back in this tin can. I, for one, would like some heat tonight."

"Oh, I don't think it was too bad, was it?" laughed Chakotay.

 **XXX**

 **Please review!**

 **~The Lady Mage~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes: I am enjoying writing this too much. Please review!**

 **Obligatory Legalities: I don't own Start Trek: Voyager... If I did, we would all be watching this on Netflix instead of reading it on the internet, and you know it.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **XXX**

CHAPTER 3

As the sun began to set, and the light grew dim, the temperature started to drop from a comfortable thirty-two degrees to one. The shuttle had been, for all intents and purposes, gutted, as the crew of five removed all the unsalvageable tech. The pile of glass, metal, and circuitry piled beside the ship was easily four foot tall, and nearly as wide. What could be repaired had been, but no amount of jiggery-pokery could return power to the Flyer. While the plasma tanks had not ruptured, and the warp core was intact, all but a handful of relays had frozen or fused.

"So..." Tom looked around him at the apprehensive expressions that had painted their faces that day. "How about a campfire? It's starting to cool down." B'Elanna dropped a piece of circuitry onto the nonsalvageable pile with a hissed curse, pausing only to glower at Tom before stomping back into the shuttle behind him. "...Or not." he muttered to himself.

Chakotay clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "Might as well. It would give us a little more light to work in." he said good-naturedly. "And keep wild animals away. We should gather up some of this broken log and start a pile. We're gonna be here a week or more depending on how long it takes the Captain."

"I'm on it." Tom smiled. "Harry, you're with me- you can carry the heavy ones!"

"My arm was just broken not twenty-four hours ago!" Harry blanched, rubbing his hand over his previously injured appendage.

"And thanks to my expert medical care, your boo-boos are all gone." teased the older man. "I think I would have to consider it a personal affront if you didn't carry the heavy ones. My bedside manner not good enough for you?"

Harry rolled his eyes with a laugh. "Yeah, yeah, come on then."

"Are you going to go pick nuts and berries, too?" B'Elanna groused, throwing another line of cording out of the cabin.

"You know, that might not be a bad idea." agreed the commander. "And with all this vegetation there's sure to be water somewhere nearby."

"Kahless, help us." hissed the half-Klingon.

"Here, here." deadpanned Seven, cross-legged in front of an exposed EPS manifold, trying in vain to coax it to work.

Chakotay gave both girls an exasperated frown. "Well, what else should we be doing then?"

"I don't know-" B'Elanna seethed, "-Maybe NOT be outside playing all Bobby Boy Scout and actually help us try to get at least one damn conduit running!" She threw her hands in the air in frustration, turned her heel, and stormed off into the cockpit, cursing in Klingon.

"If she doesn't have that baby soon, we are all going to die." Chakotay chortled once the expectant woman was out of earshot. He waved Tom into the shuttle after her, and Harry off to collect wood, then joined Seven on the floor beside the relay. "Report?"

"It is only about 1700 hours by my calculations." returned the blonde, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye between unfusing wires. "Reports aren't due until 1800."

"Oh, they're not?"

"No, sir, Commander."

He chuckled again. "Well, then I suppose you have an hour to come up with one, crewman."

"You are welcome to try to dig a working PADD out of the lockers, and I'll get right on it." The screwdriver was set down as the ex-drone admitted defeat. She clicked the cover back into place with a sigh.

"Looks like we're roughing it."

Seven frowned. "Roughing it?"

"No power, no replicators... Nothing but you, me, and the stars." explained the commander, "It's surviving in the wild with nothing but the clothes on your back. Gathering your own food and water-"

" _...roasting malvaviscos?_ "

" _Si, querida._ "

 **XXX**

Chakotay poked the fire with the long stick he'd saved from the kindling pile. The fire was beginning to burn low, having not been fed for the past half hour as its observers had eaten their rations. His hands empty, the commander reached out to the stack of logs by his side, and tossed one onto the embers. The log was greedily engulfed, the fire crackling and popping with renewed vigor. B'Elanna tossed the last of her protein bar in with it for good measure.

"If we can build the fire back up, it should last another few hours while we sleep." Tom tossed a block of his own into the coals. "I bet it's down to ten degrees out here." He wrapped his arm around B'Elanna's shoulders next him, pulling her to his side for warmth.

"I'd bet five." Harry muttered, holding his hands out to the fire.

"You are both incorrect." Seven murmured, flexing her numb fingers in her lap. "It is four degrees Celcius." She unconsciously scooted closer to Chakotay beside her, and the warmth he could provide. Compared to her slight frame, he radiated heat like a white dwarf, and whether she liked it or not she was quite stuck in its gravitational pull.

"You must be freezing in that t-shirt." Chakotay slipped his uniform jacket off of his shoulders, and draped it over Seven's, running his hands up and down her arms to warm her.

"I am fine now, Chakotay." Seven said, giving him a small smile. Every breath tasted like him- cologne, sweat, and male.

"Isn't this nice?" Tom leaned his head down to rest on B'Elanna's, hugging her tighter. "Big, beautiful sky, warm fire.."

"Pretty girls?" Harry laughed, rising from his stump to stand closer to the fire's heat.

"Beautiful girls." Tom amended. "I couldn't tell you the last time I was around a campfire."

"I could." Chakotay grinned. "The last night I was in the DMZ before we headed for the Bad Lands."

A smile split B'Elanna's face. "I remember. We all got so drunk off our coils that the ship flew sideways for at least two parsecs." She chuckled. "Celes and Seska threw up in the engine room, and we had to land on a tiny moon to hose it out." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Seems like a lifetime ago."

"Only eight years." Chakotay shrugged. "Not quite a lifetime."

"If you would excuse me." Harry dusted his pants off, turning towards the far woodline, and to where the latrine had been dug.

"You're excused." said Tom with a snicker. "Since when do you have the bladder or a Terellian flea?"

"Shut up, Tom." grumbled the ensign, stepping out of sight.

Chakotay lifted Seven's hands into his lap, cradling them in his own to warm them. "We should bed down soon. We need to be up bright and early."

"Whatever for?" B'Elanna sulked. "There's not a damn thing more I can do for this dung heap." She nodded her head to the open hatch. "She's not moving anywhere until the Captain beams her somewhere."

"Well, since we can't do any more repairs, we may as well go collect those samples we came here for. At least we can have them ready by the time the Captain comes back for us." said Chakotay, frowning when Seven pulled her hands back into her own lap. At his look, she glanced across the campfire to where Tom and B'Elanna sat.

Tom chuckled. "Uh, don't worry about us..." He said, his voice light but without a hint of taunting. "B'Elanna kind of spilled the beans earlier..."

" _Underbar..._ " Seven deadpanned, head down.

"I won't make a peep." Tom drew a cross over his chest. "Cross my heart." He glanced at where Harry had walked into the woodline to the latrine. "Even though I'm dying to tell Harry that I won the pool."

"Is there anything you do not bet on?" Seven half-hissed.

"Not really, no."

Chakotay rolled his eyes, putting his arm around Seven's shoulders and pulling her against his side. " _Calmarse, querida._ It's okay."

"This is not how I wanted this to go." returned the blonde. When Chakotay wouldn't let her move away from him, she relaxed with a sigh. He leaned down and pecked a kiss on the top of her head.

"You guys?" Harry called out, nearly stumbling out of the woods in his haste to return. "Guys!"

"Yeah?" Chakotay and Tom stood up as Harry stumbled over to them, breathing heavily. "What's wrong?"

"There's something out there!" Harry gasped air into his lungs. "Something big moving in the woods."

"We should get inside." said B'Elanna.

Seven walked up the open hatch, and snatched the tricorder sitting in the toolbox beside it. When she opened it to scan the surrounding area, it immediately began to screech its readings. "There are several large quadrupeds surrounding the crater."

"Inside!" Tom gave B'Elanna a gentle but firm push towards the hatch, before turning back to help Chacotay and Harry throw the rest of the firewood on the fire. As soon as the logs were tossed in, the three men bolted into the hatch, manually pulling it up and locking it into place with the hatch wheels. The hatch hadn't been locked for two minutes before the sounds began- logs moving, leaves shaking, and pounding footprints thumping all around the shuttle. The group of five stood in complete darkness but for the light from Seven's tricorder, wordless and still, listening, for an agonizing handful of minutes. Then, like a switch being flipped, the noise ceased, and it was silent once more.

B'Elanna was the first to break the silence, her voice a harsh whisper. "What the hell was that?"

"No idea." Tom muttered. "But I'm gonna guess this means no more Kumbaya by the campfire..."

Chakotay snorted, walking to the lockers and feeling around for the compartment that should have lanterns and flashlights. Seven joined him, using the soft light of the tricorder to guide his way to the correct drawer. With a lantern hanging from a hook on the ceiling, and one on the line of benches along the far wall, the cabin was cold, but well lit enough that Tom and Seven could lay out the sleep mats and blankets. B'Elanna seized her opportunity, claiming the middle- and therefore warmest- sleep mat, and sitting cross-legged with the blanket pulled tight around her.

"What else does the tricorder have to say about our party-crashers?" Chakotay asked, looking at the device over Seven's shoulder.

"There are six creatures." she turned the screen so that the commander could see it better. "Reptillian. Approximately three hundred and fifty kilograms, and two-point-five meters tall." She turned the tricorder towards the cockpit. "They are gathered at the bow..."

The room was still for all of five seconds before everyone scrambled to the midsection, peering as one into the dark cockpit. Chakotay was the first to step up into the dismantled compartment, followed by Seven with her tricorder. The moon was out and bright, and shone light into the windscreens, throwing shadows across the room. Tom was the first to walk to a window, leaning close to peer out. At his gasping inhalation, the others quietly gathered around his window.

"They're like giant lizard elephants." B'Elanna whispered. "Like dinosaurs with long noses..."

"That's pretty neat." Tom commented, looking back at Harry. "You were afraid of that?"

 **XXX**

She could feel herself shivering as the sleep slowly drained away from her. The cold had numbed her nose, feet, and fingers, its icy tendrils leaching into her through the blanket wrapped around her. The blonde slowly turned over, intent on burrowing her way into Chakotay's warmth, and quickly discovered him missing. His absence was enough to fully rouse her. Seven sat up, careful to keep her blanket pulled tight around her. He wasn't in the cabin, and his sleep mat was cold. "Chakotay?"

His voice came quietly from the dark cockpit. "In here."

Seven pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders as she stood up, careful not to awaken her sleeping crewmates. She tiptoed up the steps and into the cockpit. The clouds had parted, and the moon was bright enough to illuminate the compartment in a soft blue light. Chakotay was sitting in the swivel chair at the helm, his blanket over his lap, watching the sky. He turned his head to look up at her as she approached. "What are you doing?" she asked softly, her eyes sweeping over the treeline outside of the windscreen.

He pulled her blanket away, smirking at her gasp at the cold before he pulled her down into his lap. "Just enjoying the view." he answered, pulling her blanket around them both. He sighed contentedly when she leaned her head back onto his shoulder, reaching up and pulling her hair from its clip, letting it tumble down over her shoulders and frame her face.

"I suppose, all things considered, it is a pretty view." she murmured, her happiness audible.

He pressed a kiss to her ear. "It just got more beautiful." A hushed chuckle rumbled from his chest as she turned her head to look at him in surprise. " _Eres bonita._ "

 _"Gracias."_ She murmured, cupping his cheek with her metal-laced hand. " _Älskling.._ " She smiled as he leaned down to press his lips to her's, pulling her tighter against his body. When he released her mouth, he moved his attention to her neck, brushing kisses down her throat until she was gasping for breath and he could feel her pulse trembling against his lips. "Chakotay." she breathed, tilting her head to give him better access to her soft, sensitive skin.

" _Eres hermosa._ " He whispered into the crook of her neck, one hand gently turning her face back towards his, reclaiming her lips. His other hand smoothed across her belly, tucking it under her t-shirt to feel the warm flesh beneath. He could feel the muscles beneath her skin clench as his ran his hand across her navel and up to just beneath one full breast. His free hand moved from her face down to her hand, lacing their fingers together; the other moved to cup the soft mound, smirking against her lips as her breath hitched in her throat.

"Chakot-" Her moan was cut off as a loud crash echoed throughout the shuttle, making them both jerk in surprise. Another loud bang followed it- the sound of metal scraping metal squealing as whatever it was slid down and fell off the shuttle's roof.

"What the hell?" B'Elanna's voice rang from the cabin as more concussive cracks rang through the ship.

"Something is hitting the shuttle!" Harry yelled.

"Where's Seven and Chakotay?" asked Tom.

Seven hopped up from Chakotay's lap, the blanket and its warmth forgotten on the floor. "Up here." she called back to the cabin, grabbing the toolkit near the door to the midsection, and yanking out its tricorder. Chakotay was right behind her, looking over her shoulder as she took readings. All the while, the collisions continued, making her ears ring and her eyes wince with every strike.

Tom, Harry, and B'Elanna quickly joined them in the cockpit. B'Elanna had the other tricorder on and reading. "It's not meteorites." she read, looking at Seven and Chakotay.

"I'm not picking up anything." Seven said, a hint of confusion in her voice. "There's no life signs within several square kilometers from here- the large creatures from earlier are long gone." She looked up at Chakotay's face over her shoulder. "It isn't even picking up that anything is hitting the hull."

Harry reached out his hand and grabbed the nearest bulkhead. After a few seconds, her turned wide confused eyes to his crewmates. "Because nothing is hitting it." He looked at his hand. "Feel." Four other hands joined his against the bulkhead. Metal hit metal, the sounds of trees breaking in half like twigs, and a near deafening roar of something huge hitting the dirt fast and hard reverberated through the air around them. The bulkhead didn't so much as vibrate. "Whatever we are hearing isn't happening to us," Harry gestured to the still bulkhead. "Or the whole ship would be rocking back and forth."

"You're right." agreed Tom. "So what is making all this racket?"

"It sounds like another ship crashing." Harry frowned.

"But we would have felt the concussive force of another shuttle landing close enough that we could hear it." said Chakotay, squinting to see out the window. "Another ship crashing would have lit up the sky- either from the energy of the ship or the venting plasma."

"Well, it's gone quiet now." said Harry. "I don't really like the idea of going out to take a look. Not with those huge creatures out there."

"No, I wouldn't want to risk going out in the dark, either. Morning is still at least four hours away." Chakotay looked out to the horizon- not a sign of sunlight yet. "We are safe here in the shuttle. I suggest we all go back to sleep. We can scout out into the woods in the morning."

"Here, here." said B'Elanna, crossing her arms to conserve her body heat. "I'm freezing!" She glanced at Seven trying to reconfigure her tricorder, the ex-drone's shirt still scrunched up to her ribs. "Aren't you cold, Seven?"

Tom walked to the bow to look out of the windscreen, and noticed the two blankets on the floor in front of the single pilot's chair. "Hey, what were you two doing up here?" Tom asked, feigning innocence. his eyes flashing in mirth when he looked back to the group. He smirked when Seven blushed scarlet, turning her back to him to fiddle with her tricorder, trying discreetly to pull her shirt down to her waist.

"Nothing, Tom. Just watching for the _dinophants_." answered Chakotay, jaw set. "Let's all go back to bed."

"Good." Harry yawned. "I'm beat!"

Once everyone was resettled in the cabin, silence reigned, hanging heavy over the shuttle and its occupants. There was no more noise from outside- no insects or animals. Harry passed out first, curled up in his blanket like a burrito. Beside him, Tom and B'Elanna quickly dozed, Tom's arm slung over her prominent baby bump. Chakotay waited until the others were asleep before slinging his blanket over Seven's and pulling her tight against him. She relaxed immediately, sharing his body heat.

"What do you think made those noises?" she whispered, tucking her head under his chin.

"Honestly? I have no idea." he murmured, his hand on the small of her back, rubbing circles with his thumbs. "I don't think it was another ship. We would have seen them." He kissed the top of her head. "We will see tomorrow, I suppose. _Sueño, querida._ "

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~The Lady Mage~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: Welcome to chapter 4 of Falleretque Perfectus! Thanks for sticking with me so far! I think I may have jinxed myself- I began writing this and now I have about seven other story ideas rolling around in my head! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it! I go back and forth between feet and miles and meters in this, mainly because I got sick of going back and forth between the tabs to calculate it.**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own it, won't ever own it... Great, now I'm sad... Thanks...**

 **XXX**

"Here's a good a place to rest as any." Chakotay dropped his canister and the short shovel beside the felled log before claiming a seat on it. He pulled the silver canteen from its clip at his waist, and drew a deep swig from it. The air hadn't warmed much more by midday, but by then they were both sweaty, thirsty, and tired. The only deuterium samples they had managed to collect were some chips of rock from an outcropping twenty-five hundred meters from the shuttle, and there was no way they could dig deep enough for the dilithium with his little spade.

Seven consulted her tricorder again, settling her canister beside Chakotay's, and joining him on the log. She took his offered canteen, and sipped from it before speaking. "There is another deuterium deposit fifty-three degrees due West from here." she read off, turning the device in her hands so that he could also see the screen. "There is also a small river nearby. Freshwater." She gestured to their left. "That direction. Just under fifteen hundred meters."

"Freshwater, eh?" Chakotay pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I could use a swim." He smirked as Seven rolled her eyes. "We should go check it out, Seven." He said more seriously. "We are better off knowing if there is potable water nearby. Our bottled water will only last so long, and we may be here for two weeks depending on the Captain."

The logic was sound. Seven nodded, tucking the loose strands of her hair back up into its twist and off of her sweaty forehead. "Let us proceed, then." She stood, reaching back and offering a hand to Chakotay. He stood beside her and grabbed the canisters, handed her the shovel, and followed her on through the dense forest.

 **XXX**

"I can hear the water." Chakotay huffed as they trekked through the myriad of bushes, brambles, and vines that made up the spaces between the tall trees. Seven, hearing his heavy breathing, turned a concerned eye on him. He waved her off, repositioning the canisters on his shoulder. "Can't be too far now, right?"

"Over this hill." she answered, ducking under a particularly long and brambled vine. Once at the top of the hill, the tree line came to an abrupt end. Before them a large creek meandered its way through the woods, banked by a pebbled shore. The water trickled on by, rolling over rocks and the occasional downed log.

"Just deep enough for swimming." Chakotay said at her side, looking at the tricorder over her shoulder. "Any aquatic life?"

"No. Nothing showing up." she answered, flipping the tricorder shut and putting it back in her sweatpant pocket. She grabbed one of the canisters from him before carefully making her way down the hill to the pebbled shore.

Chakotay approached the water first, taking in the beautiful landscape. The water was so clear that you could count the rocks at the bottom. The pebbled beach was as soft as standing on a pillow after their long march through the woods. He crouched down by the water's edge, cupping his hands in the water, and letting it run through his fingers. It was cold, but not freezing. Seven was beside him in a heartbeat, tricorder back out, taking readings of the water and the surrounding area.

"It should be potable." Seven said, looking down at the clear water.

"Well," Chakotay cupped his hands again in the cool water, "Here goes." He brought his cupped hands to his lips, and drank. He smiled, looking at Seven. "That's good." She raised one brow. "It's hot out here, the water is cold. Drink up." She rolled her eyes at him, but followed his example.

"Sure you don't want to go for a swim? I'm about to soak my feet." Chakotay said a few moments later, his eyes roaming the tree line on the opposite bank.

"Perhaps we should refill the canteens while the water is still drinkable, then?" Seven teased, her voice deadpan but her lips turned up into a smirk as she set their discarded shoes off to the side and took a seat on the pebbles beside where he crouched.

"Ha, ha." He smiled at her, dimples showing. The second she turned her eyes from him, he reached out and grabbed her around the waist, hefting her up over her shoulder before she could react to stop him.

"Chakotay! What are you doing? _Sluta_!" She yelped, twisting in his arms as he stepped into the water. "Chakotay! Cease this-"

"Tease me, will you?" He smirked playfully, wading down until he was waist deep, with her clinging to his shoulder above the water. "Hold your breath!" And with that, he unlocked his knees, dunking them both into the clear water. Seven squealed as the cold water rushed over her, closing her mouth before her head went under. When she came back up seconds later, he was floating on his back, arms crossed behind his head. He peeked at her from under one eyelid.

"Are you serious?" Seven blew the water out of her nose, shoving her loose hair out of her face. "Was that completely necessary?"

"What's wrong?" he asked innocently, standing up in the water. When he made to move beside her again, she gave him one of her coldest Borg glares. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I was just playing, querida." He held his hands up in surrender. Her glare softened into a pout.

"Apparently I have not been informed that drowning one's girlfriend is an acceptable form of play!" She grumbled, blowing a strand of wet hair off her lips.

"Does it make you feel any better that you're absolutely adorable when you're soaking wet like that?" he murmured, reaching out to tuck the offending lock of hair behind her ear out of her way.

She tried to continue pouting at him, but a smile managed to fight its way out of her. Instead, she rolled her eyes at him. "I cannot find my clip." Her hair hung down to her shoulderblades in wet curls. "Assist me." She stilled, trying to see through the water to the bottom.

Chakotay joined her, looking down beneath the water until he finally saw the glint of the hairclip near the shore. He held his breath and went under the water to fish it up, surfacing with it cradled in one hand. "Oh.." He frowned. "It broke." He held out the cracked metal piece to her. " _Lo siento, querida.._ "

Seven sighed, looking at the damaged clip in his hand. "No matter." She began to slosh past him back towards the shore, but he stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "Hmm?"

"Stay out here, _mi sol_." He cajoled, pulling her to him. "It's hot. We will cool off here for a bit, and then continue on to get some more samples."

Seven's eyes widened. "Samples!" She pulled her arm back to pat along her hips, and winced, pulling the now waterlogged tricorder from her pocket. "Well, this is useless now."

"Uh, sorry about that, too." said Chakotay, following her out of the water and back to the shore and their shoes.

"We had better head back." Seven said, slipping her shoes back on. "We will not be able to find the samples without a working tricorder."

"Right." Chakotay agreed.

 **XXX**

Dodging a flying laser screwdriver, Harry turned and fled from the cabin and the hormonal half-Klingon cursing inside it. In the hours that he and B'Elanna had been working on the shuttle, not one thing had been accomplished except adding a few new dents to the walls ala B'Elanna's flying tools. The young ensign decided to cut his losses and run rather than risk an injury. It was nearly noon- the sun hanging high in the sky, warming the day up until it was almost uncomfortably warm.

Harry took his uniform jacket off and laid it over the logs situated around their firepit before lifting up the box of rations they had set there for breakfast. Opening the box, he counted the remaining protein bars. "Two, four, six, eight... twenty-four, twenty-eight, thirty." He set the box back down. "That's not gonna last another eight days..."

"Good thing it doesn't have to, Harry, my boy." Tom said, coming around the hull with a canister over his shoulder. He chuckled as Harry jumped in surprise. "It's just me, Harry."

"For a second, I thought it was your wife!" said Harry, glancing nervously to the cabin. He could still hear B'Elanna yelling at the ship. "Save me."

"This might just cheer her up." said Tom, settling his container down and opening the lid. He handed Harry a small, round, gold and green ball the size of an avocado and the shape of an orange. "Try it. Tastes like a grape."

Harry turned the funny looking fruit over in his hands, shrugged, and bit in. The flavor was so sour that he thought his face would never unpinch itself. "UGH! Oh, my god, Tom!" He spit. The taste clung to his tongue like glue. "Blech! That's disgusting!"

Tom laughed until he was red in the face. "Harry... H-Harry... you have to... peel it, first!"

B'Elanna stormed out onto the hatch, jacket long discarded, grease and dirt coloring her arms and face. She put her hands on her hips, staring unhappily at the two men. "Just what is so funny?!"

"Harry's face!" Tom laughed, pointing. "I gave him a fruit I found and he bit into it. He didn't know to peel it."

"You found edible fruit?" The anger drained out of B'Elanna as she looked at Tom in surprise. "You scanned it first before you ate it, right?"

"Nah, I figured it smelled okay." Tom teased, turning aroung and pointing over his shoulder at his spine. "Hey, what's this growing on my back?" He laughed again as B'Elanna rolled her eyes.

Harry tossed his peels in the firepit. "If we can find edible stuff around here we can stretch our rations farther." He looked at the now yellow peeled fruit in his hands suspiciously, eyeing Tom before sticking his tongue out and licking across it. It was still tart, but sweet, with slightly slimy texture. When he bit into it, juice ran down his chin, and it did taste like green grapes. "Not bad." He mumbled around his mouthful, wiping his chin with the back of his free hand. "Where did you find them?"

"There's a grove of them about half a mile south of here." Tom pointed at the canister. "We should go gather some more. There were a bunch of berry bushes, too, growing wild on he way there that I think might be edible." He smiled up at B'Elanna. "How would you like a break before it gets dark?"

 **XXX**

"We came through this way." Chakotay spoke more to himself than Seven, retracing their steps in his head. "Then that outcropping was about three thousand meters..." He scowled. Their steps had been nothing short of erratic, dodging around the densest thickets, avoiding the worst of the brambles. Nothing that day had been a straight line. He could just feel his brows beginning to draw together when Seven grabbed the side of his face, and pulled him down to her level. She pressed her lips to his into a quick but heated kiss, then released him just as fast. At his confused face, she chuckled. "What was that for?"

The ex-drone shrugged, turning back to the treeline. "You are absolutely adorable when you are confused." She answered, a rare moment of playfulness softening her features. He reached out to grab her, but she dodged away, sprinting off to the treeline. Once there, facing the trees, she turned so she could just see him over her shoulder, a promising smirk curling her lips. Then she was gone, sliding into the trees with a silent grace only she was capable of.

Chakotay laughed, chasing after her. She wasn't more than fifteen feet inside the woodline, leaned back against a tree, waiting for him, her bright blue eyes peeking out at him through her blonde waves. He had just gotten her properly pinned- her wrists in his hands above her head, her back pressed against the tree's smooth trunk, her chest pressed against his, her head tilted up to him, lips dark pink and just itching to be kissed- when a loud voice cut through the quiet forest like a hot knife.

" _GUYS!_ "

"...Harry?" Chakotay looked around in surprise, letting go of Seven's wrists.

" _GUYS!_ " Harry's voice echoed through the dense forest.

"Why have they followed us?" Seven asked, honestly puzzled. She reached for her tricorder before remembering it was nonfunctional. She scowled.

"Something must be wrong." Chakotay said, hitching his canister higher on his shoulder. He turned back towards the creek where the voice had sounded like it came from. "Hey, Harry?"

" _YOU GUYS?_ "

Seven followed Chakotay and the sound of the voice back to the creek. The commander was standing at the water's edge, eyeing the forest beyond the cool water. He waited until she was beside him before he pointed up to the ridge a hundred meters from the opposite bank. She followed his hand, scanning the woodline at the top of the ridge. There was a flash of grey and yellow moving between two trees.

"He must have crossed the creek." said Chakotay. He cupped his hands on either side of his mouth. "HEY, HARRY! DOWN HERE!" He waved one arm above his head. "HARRY!"

The yellow and grey flashed again a few feet farther along the ridge, but Harry didn't walk out to the treeline. Seven kicked her shoes off, and picked them up from the pebbles. "He must be incapable of hearing us." The water wasn't any less cold as she waded in. She made it a third of the way before she had to hold her shoes over her head to keep them dry. Chakotay splashed in after her, quickly crossing the water to find their lost crewmate.

" _GUYS!_ "

"We're coming, Harry!" Chakotay shouted as he slipped his shoes back on, following Seven towards the ridge. The two hurried through the woods, weaving around the briars and brambled bushes, until they reached the bottom of the ridge.

" _YOU GUYS?_ " Harry's voice boomed loudly through the forest.

"HARRY!" Chakotay yelled through cupped hands. He waited a few minutes, but received no answering call. "What in the heck?" He scowled, looking back at Seven. She looked just as confused, eyeballing the cliff above them. She pointed to a shallow trail that would bypass the worst of the unaccommodating vegetation, leading diagonally up to the very top of the cliff. The trail was rocky, but free of any briars or brambles trying to grow out of the rock, a jagged scar from level ground that wound up to the plateau above. It would have to do- going around would take too long. "Let's go."

Seven went up first, her canister secured to her back as tightly as the strap would hold it, her steps careful and deliberate. She held onto the rock wall to her left as she went, her other hand free to balance her.

" _GUYS!_ "

The two climbing stopped long enough to look each other in the eye. Chakotay shrugged. "He's gotta be right up there."

" _YOU GUYS?_ "

"Do you think he is damaged?" asked Seven, turning back to continue edging up the trail.

"I don't know." said Chakotay, reaching up and putting his hand on the small of her back ahead of him to steady her as the trail narrowed. "We will see when we get to him." When the trail widened back out, he released her. As they crested the ridge, they found themselves peering into a patch of forest even more dense than the one they had just left below. The trees were so close together that their leafed canopy prevented the sun from shining down to the ground below, leaving it rocky and barren. Chakotay cupped his hands around his mouth again. "HARRY! HEY, HARRY!"

The flash of yellow and grey flit between two trees fifty yards ahead. " _GUYS?_ "

"There!" Seven pointed it out, setting off into the trees towards the flash. "HARRY?" Yellow and grey flashed again, 75 yards ahead. "He is sure to become lost."

"He's already lost." Chakotay chuckled. "Come on- let's go get him. Wait 'til Tom hears about this tonight." The two walked together, weaving through the trees in the quiet woods. They made it fifty yards before they heard Harry's desperate voice again.

" _You guys?_ "

Seven and Chakotay whipped around back the way they had come from in time to see a grey and yellow jacket and short black hair dropping down onto the trail they had just walked up. "What the hell?" cursed the commander, his expression making it perfectly clear just how confused he was. "How did he get behind us?"

"He must have circled around us." said Seven, leading the march back to the jagged pathway. They made it to the edge in time to see Harry disappear into the woods heading back towards the water. With a sigh, the couple started their way back down the rocky path.

"It's going to get dark in another couple of hours." Chakotay observed, his voice a quiet mumble.

"Then we had better find Harry before that. We still have to find our way back to the shuttle." said Seven. "I am not exactly thrilled with the idea of being outside tonight should those quadropeds decide to return."

"You mean the dinophants?"

"Dinoph-?" Seven looked back at him with a teasing smile. "You are designating them dinophants? Of all the-" Her foot landed on a patch of loose gravel, slipping out from beneath her, and throwing her off balance. Before she could right herself, she was tumbling over the edge of the steep pathway, a startled scream tearing its way from her throat.

"SEVEN!" Chakotay managed to grab her arm as it lashed out, trying to lend her balance in vain. When she fell over the edge, he nearly fell with her off the sharp rock. He dug his fingers as tight into the flesh of her arm as he could, splaying his legs to try to anchor himself to the narrow footpath, his knees grinding painfully into the hard rock.

"Chakotay!" The calm, cool, Borg expression that usually graced Seven's pale face had been shattered. Her eyes were large, her mouth a tight line, as she dangled from his arm like a rag doll, a good fifteem meters from the ground below.

"I've got you! _Agárrate_!" Chacotay grunted, grabbing her arm with both of his hands to strengthen his grip. Her own hand clasped tightly over his, her feet trying to find purchase on the rocks she dangled before. "Come on, Seven!" He pulled, shuffling his knees beneath him for leverage.

" _Låt mig inte falla!_ " the blonde whimpered. Her foot finally found a crevice, taking some of the weight off Chakotay's shoulder. " _Vänligen!_ " She tried to ignore the sound of loose gravel being knocked free and tumbling all the way down to the bottom.

The commander groaned, slowly pulling her up, an inch at a time. He managed to pull one knee under his torso, and used the leverage to pull her another few inches. Then he managed to slide his other knee beneath him. The change in position allowed him to pull with everything he had, and he yanked her up over the ledge and into his lap. They fell back against the rock face, both panting with the exertion, and clinging to each other. Chakotay held Seven to his chest, her head over his pounding heart, pecking several adrenaline fueled kisses into her hair. Several minutes passed in this fashion before either were able to move, Chakotay letting Seven sit back on her own knees. The ex-Borg stood first, and held her hand down to pull her beau to his feet.

" _GUYS?_ " Harry's voice reminded them why they were sitting on the edge of a cliff instead of trying to find their way back to the flat safety of the shuttle.

"I'm gonna kill Harry." Seven whispered sharply, dusting herself off before carefully continuing her way down the path.

"I'll help." added Chakotay.

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~The Lady Mage**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: Thank you so much to my reviewers! It always makes my day when one of those drops into my mailbox!**

 **This universe is supposing that the Admiral never came for a visit, there never was a Borg-infested nebula (or a coffee one), and the crew are still trucking it on home to the alpha quadrant.**

 **Obligatory Legalities: I don't own them, I only own the twisted mind that came up with this story.**

 **~LM**

 **XXX**

 **Day 2 Part 2**

 **XXX**

The walk to the little grove of trees Tom had lead Harry and B'Elanna towards was blissfully quiet, and shaded enough to cool the three explorers down as they meandered beneath the dense treetops. The trees were not unlike the ash trees of Earth, but their bark was as smooth as a muslin canvas, and dotted here and there with white diamond-esque spots. The leaves were large, fuzzy teardrops of viridian, and the trunks were rod straight until about ten feet up when they began to branch out. The fruit Tom had picked hung in clumps like bananas, and the air smelled sweetly of their flesh.

"Wow." said Harry, taking the lid off his canister blindly, unable to pull his eyes off of the canopy above him. "This is really nice."

"I'll say." agreed B'Elanna, allowing Tom to gently pull her to the middle of the grove. She looked up into the tree above her and scowled at the height. "But there's no way I can climb this tree- not with this big thing in the way." she muttered, giving her belly a gentle rub. The baby inside gave her a swift kick as if agreeing.

"I'll climb it- don't worry." said Tom with a smile, putting his hand over her's on her stomach. "You just catch the fruit and throw it in the canister."

"It's been a long time since I've climbed a tree." Harry commented, gauging the tree beside him. He reached out, gripped the trunk, and leapt, hugging the thick trunk with his arms as he attempted to use his feet to scoot himself up in a frog-swimming manner. A fresh wave of sweat prickled along his brow with his exertion, but he managed to make it the ten feet up to the easier to manage branches above.

Tom quickly scaled the tree beside B'Elanna, opting instead to use his jacket looped around the tree as a brace to assist him. Once up in the branches, he grabbed a big bunch of the green fruit, and gently tossed it down to B'Elanna. Once she had it packed away, he tossed her another, and another, until his and her canister was full. In the next tree over, Harry dropped his fruit into a pile on the ground below, then climbed down to pack it all away.

"That's a load, I think." said B'Elanna, hefting one canister over her shoulder, tightening the strap.

"Okay." Tom called down, eyeing the leaves over his head. He reached up, testing the branch above him. "Hey, I'm going to see if I can't see anything up here. Maybe figure out what all that racket was last night."

"Be careful, Tom!" Harry called. "Those branches might not support your weight!"

"Whatever you do- don't fall!" shouted B'Elanna, watching him in concern as he carefully scaled his way another three meters up the already twenty meter tall tree.

"Well, I wasn't plannin' on it, B'Elanna." he called teasingly down to her. "I mean, that would really put a damper on our vacation, wouldn't it?"

"You call this a vacation?" B'Elanna curled her lip. "Are you joking?"

He stopped climbing to look back down at her. "Well, there's not a thing we can do to get off this planet, but at least it's a nice one." he said with a smirk. "People pay their weight in latinum to tour through what's left of the Amazon rainforest or go camping on the plains of Africa- how is this much different?"

"Most people that camp anymore have electric tents with lights and heat!" returned the half-Klingon. "And don't have to worry about being trampled by elephant-sized dinosaurs if they have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night!"

"What a luxury." Harry laughed beside her.

"You should look on the bright side." Tom returned, reaching up for the next branch. He was nearly five meters from the treetop. "In a week, we will all look back at this and-" The branch gave with a booming crack. "- _CRAP_!" Tom flailed for a handful of seconds that stretched into an eternity, B'Elanna's shriek barely registering before his arm made contact with another branch. He gripped it for dear life, dangling a good fifteen meters above his now-panicked wife and friend.

"Tom! Come down!" B'Elanna half-screeched.

"I'm planning on it!" he yelled, swinging his feet up onto a nearby branch, and anchoring his legs to it. "It's the speed at which I descend that I'm trying to regulate!" He managed to right himself, and begin the slow shimmy down. About halfway down, something in the crook of a branch caught his eye. "Hey!" He paused his descent, looking down at his companions. "I know what I'm having for breakfast in the morning!" When they only looked at him like he'd grown a tail, he held up a bright green egg from the nest he had discovered. "Now we just need some bacon."

"Space bacon." Harry nodded in agreement, smiling when Tom laughed.

"There's six eggs in this nest." Tom said, gently lifting the nest up off the branch, cradling it in one arm as he went down another branch. "We can all have some breakfast." When he reached the bottom-most branch, he carefully dropped the eggs one at a time to Harry's waiting hands. Then, he held the nest up, turning it over and examining it in his hands. "Think I should put this nest back?"

" _Thomas Eugene Paris_ , if you don't come down out of that damn tree-" B'Elanna began, hands on her hips.

"I'm just kidding!" Tom held his hands up in surrender, dropping the nest onto the branch beside him before grabbing the trunk to shimmy the rest of the way down.

Harry snorted laughter, pausing only to yell out a surprised, "Ouch!" when B'Elanna slapped his shoulder.

"Come on. Let's get back before we lose too much daylight." said Tom, and he hefted his full canister over his shoulder.

 **XXX**

A wordless tune hummed through a pair of soft pink lips. Without the tricorder to guide them, the walk back towards the shuttle was slow and grueling. The sun was beginning to sink down to the treetops as the hikers made their way through the unforgiving forest. The air was stale and humid, with not a breeze to shift it, and no noises could be heard other than the crunch of leaves beneath two sets of feet. In the hour since they had left the wretched cliff face and crossed back through the creek, no bird-like creatures flew through the sky, no small animals scurried through the underbrush, and no insects buzzed in their ears. It felt as though they were the only two creatures alive on the planet.

"We have passed this tree before." The tune died in her throat as Seven scowled at the tree in question. She pointed to the smooth, tan trunk and the vine with purple flowers that circled it. "We are walking in circles."

"There are hundreds of trees around us that have the same purple flowers attached to them." Chakotay tried to deny it, but one raised eyebrow from his blonde companion sobered him. He let his canister slide down his arm, and settled it on the ground beside him. "We came from that way- which is Northeast." He pointed behind them. "The creek was Northeast from the rocky field we dug these samples from, and that was due North of the shuttle."

"If we can relocate that outcrop, we could devise a way back more easily." said Seven.

"We could go back to the creek and try again, but we wouldn't get to the shuttle until after dark." Chakotay grimaced at the idea.

"That is not a pleasant option, Chakotay."

"Well, it may have to be one, _querida_." Chakotay mumbled with a frown, sitting down cross-legged on the ground beside his canister. He pat the ground beside him, prompting Seven to sit beside him. "We can rest a few minutes before continuing on. I don't know about you but my feet are killing me."

"We should be heading South." Seven said, brushing her loose hair back out of her face. "If we could walk a straight line, we could be back in no time." She gestured to the dense vegetation surrounding them. "This is hindering us."

"Yeah. No more hiking on the holodeck for me." muttered the commander, pulling out the canteen and taking another swig. Swallowing, he placed it in Seven's hands.

"When have you ever participated in hiking on the holodeck?" she asked, taking a long swallow from the silver container.

"Harry had this holonovel once- something or other to do with Beowolf." He chuckled. "You should ask him about it sometime- it's a funny story. Anyway, there was quite a bit of hiking in it."

"One little holonovel, and you find you are scarred for life?"

"No, I think getting lost in a jungle on a planet a week away from being rescued has scarred me for life." He slung his arm around her shoulders. "I just wish we had thought to bring more with us."

"Hmm?"

Chakotay's stomach growled loudly between them. He chuckled. "Would it have killed me to pack a few rations? We have no flashlight, either, if it gets dark before we return."

"We were not planning on being away from the shuttle for this amount of time."

"All the more reason for us to continue on." Ignoring his stomach, Chakotay stood up. Seven followed him, hefting her canister onto her shoulder. "Maybe we will find something edible along the way."

"Without a functioning tricorder, there's no definite way to tell if anything here is edible."

"Then we had better hurry." He stepped onto a long briar, holding it down with his foot for her to step past it. " _Vamanos_."

This time, they made no grand move to avoid the thickest bushes, cutting a much straighter line through the slowly darkening woods.

 **XXX**

Tom, Harry, and B'Elanna sat around the firepit. The air was steadily gaining a chill as the sun shifted lower in the sky. Their bounty of fruit, eggs, and berries were set up around them as they took inventory of their remaining food supply, and prepared some semblance of a meal for themselves. Harry busied himself with setting up the logs and kindling to start a fire while B'Elanna and Tom peeled the strange green fruit. They worked in comfortable silence, winding down from their long, hot day.

"What time is it?" Harry was the first to breach the quiet, pausing by the firepit. Tom, sitting beside him, knife in hand, shrugged. "Well, Chakotay and Seven have been gone an awfully long time..."

"It't about an hour from sundown, I think." said B'Elanna, looking at the swiftly setting sun. She scowled. "They have been gone all day, haven't they.."

Tom stopped cutting the fruit in his hands. "Do you think they are okay?"

"I wouldn't want to be caught out in the woods after dark." said Harry. "What if those giant elephant things are out there?"

"Should we go look for them?"

"And abandon the shuttle?"

"One of us could stay behind."

B'Elanna snorted. "Yeah, so then four of us would be lost in the woods, and the last one stuck here alone for a week. That's a wonderful idea."

"Well, we can't leave them out in the woods alone all night, either." Tom pointed out, piling the chunks of fruit into a spare canister lid-turned-bowl. "Who knows what else is out there?" He reached out and ran a finger up B'Elanna's spine. "Who knows what lurks in the deep, dark, scary woods..."

"Shut up, Tom." she hissed. "Don't start that creature for the Black Lagoon racket again."

"Hey, that movie is a _classic_ , and was very scary for its time!"

"Visible zipper and all." B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, we know, honey."

Tom feigned hurt. "Do you, B'Elanna? Do you really?" The half-Klingon laughed, and he smiled. "Seriously, though. We probably should go poke around a bit- what if they really are lost?"

"Or hurt?" added Harry. "Too bad we don't have working com badges."

"Alright, let's go before it gets any darker, then. Let me grab my tricorder."

 **XXX**

The Commander and the ex-drone, were making good time this go around. Without as much detouring, their steps were slower, but much more straight. Chakotay had picked up a long, thick branch- good sized for a walking stick- and used it to push down the briars and thorns in their way. The sun was beginning to hang low in the sky- the only evidence of which was the light dimming at a faster rate in the woods around them. The temperature began to dip alongside the sun, and soon even the heat of mobility wasn't enough to stave off the chill.

They paused as Chakotay beat another vine free with his walking stick so they could step over it. Seven paused her humming and blew out a long breath that was visible in the crisp air. She scowled, goosebumps rising out down her exposed arms. "Of all the things..." She began, stepping over the vine behind Chakotay, "I thought would plausibly lead to my own death- the Borg, a failing implant, Voyager losing a battle with a ship possessing a superior weapons array... never once did I think to add freezing to death on a planet in the middle of a jungle to the list."

"Are you cold?" Chakotay paused his step, turning back to her. She walked with the same headstrong determined gait as always, but her arms were crossed over her chest to conserve heat in her thin tshirt.

"The temperature is dropping." was her answer, dropping her arms.

Chakotay's canister thumped to the ground beside him. He twisted off the lid, and pulled his earlier discarded black and red uniform jacket from it. The rocky samples inside had turned the black to a dustier grey, but a few good shakes and it was good as new. He handed it to Seven, smiling as she gratefully pulled it on. "That's better." he said gently, re-closing his canister and throwing it back over his shoulder. He took up his walking stick in one hand, and held the other out to her.

Seven returned his smile, putting her hand in his, lacing their fingers together, before they continued on. After another thirty meters, the woods began to thin out- the trees more than a meter apart, and the dense undergrowth becoming more disperse. The same wordless tune began to softly hum from Seven's lips, the only sound besides the shifting of feet.

"What are you humming?" Chakotay asked after a few minutes, walking side by side with her through the trees. He had to squint now to see as the dark began to cover them like an icy blanket. The goosebumps along his arms and down his chest and back were beginning to itch under his grey shirt. The metal lacing Seven's hand in his was freezing despite their shared body heat.

"A song that Tom showed me in one of the holodeck programs he and Harry managed to convince me into participating in."

"That doesn't tell me much, _querida_. Tom has hundreds of holodeck programs." Chakotay chuckled.

"Hmm..." Seven smiled, " _-Picture yourself in a boat on a river- with tangerine trees and marmalade skies._ " she sang softly, eyeing his reaction warily as though she was afraid he would make fun of her.

His reaction was the opposite. "The Beatles?" The dark-haired commander smiled. "I know the Doctor likes old folk tunes, but Tom introduced you to The Beatles?"

Seven nodded once. " _-Somebody calls you- you answer quite slowly-_ "

" _-A girl with kaleidoscope eyes..-_ " Chakotay finished, dropping her hand to run a finger down her cheek beside her starburst implant. She rolled her eyes at him, turning her head. He dropped his hand back to reclaim her's, and they continued on as he smirked, thoroughly amused. "Keep going."

" _-Cellophane flowers of yellow and green- towering over your head... Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes, and she's gone...-_ " Seven smiled, singing quietly. " _Lucy in the sky with diamonds- Lucy in the sky with diamon-_ " A cold wind whipped up around them, the icy air cutting through their clothes and chilling them to the bone. Her expression turned serious as a rather severe shiver ran up her spine. "We should begin looking for some kind of shelter. It is only growing colder, and already it is getting too dark to properly see."

"Can you not make out anything with your cybernetic eye?"

"Yes, but you cannot."

Chakotay sighed. "Then you will have to lead. I'm not ready to give up yet. We've walked for hours. Surely we are close by now."

"Unless we are facing the wrong direction and are now farther from the Flyer than we originally were."

"Don't jinx us, _querida_."

Seven's expression turned quizzical. Just as she opened her mouth to ask exactly what a jinx was, and how she could possibly be one, another voice rang out from the trees.

" _HEY!_ "

"Tom?" Chakotay whipped around, looking for the source of their friend's voice. "TOM!"

" _HEY GUYS!_ " Harry's voice rang out.

"They must be looking for us." said Chakotay, pulling Seven along with him at a faster pace. "This way!" They ran a good fifty yards before Chakotay had to pause and catch his breath. He leaned against a smooth tree and panted, straining to hear over his own lungs for any sign of their crewmates.

"Here." Seven pushed the little canteen into his hands. She focused all her attention on her auditory implants. After a handful of tense minutes, she could hear rustling ahead of them. Chakotay capped the canteen, and they broke out in another run. It was too close to being dark to risk a walk at this point. They needed out of the woods, and back with the others as soon as possible before the temperature was freezing and the sunlight gone.

Ahead of them where they had heard the voices, the two stumbled from the last thicket and onto a gametrail that curved off into the woods on either side of them. The winding path appeared to be mostly unused, grown over, and rocky, but clear enough to lead whichever animal that frequented it to and fro through its territory. It took only a few seconds' deliberation before the two humans decided to follow it. At the very least, it would be much easier to walk on than stepping over the bushes, briars, and vines that littered the rest of the forest floor.

"TOM?" Seven nearly jumped out of her skin as Chakotay yelled out without warning beside her. He gave her a sheepish grin. " _Lo siento, novia_." She waved him off, a calming breath whooshing through her lips. "They were down here somewhere- we heard them." he murmured to himself, his eyes scanning the darkening forest ahead of them.

" _HEY!_ "

"TOM!" Chakotay and Seven sprinted down the pathway, following the familiar sound.

" _GUYS!_ "

Another twenty meters ahead, Seven could just make out a flash of short blonde hair, and the black and yellow of a lieutenant's uniform. She pointed at it. "Tom's up there!"

Chakotay squinted into the darkness. "I can't see anything."

"Come on!" It was Seven's turn to grab Chakotay's hand, dragging him along behind her as she followed the flash of yellow in the woods. "Tom Paris!"

" _HEY!_ "

"Damnit, why don't they answer us?" Chakotay huffed, jogging alongside the much faster blonde. He realized that with all her Borg enhancements, she must be holding back so that he could keep up. "Go ahead and catch up if you can, Seven! Let them know we are okay." He stopped to catch his breath again. She stopped alongside him, nowhere near winded, and shook her head. "Hurry!"

"I am not leaving you out here in the dark!" She glared at him as though he'd grown a second head. "Catch your breath and we will continue. We know we are going the correct direction so long as we can still hear them."

The way his lungs burned, he didn't have the breath to argue. After another couple of gulping breaths, they continued running again. They sprinted down the pathway, turning the corner between two blonde smooth-trunked trees, and continuing on. The ground was starting to go downhill now, and it was easier for him to keep pace with her enhanced muscles. Before long, they could see the first signs of the devastation their shuttle had spread across the landscape. Seven, beside him laughed in joy, reaching out for his hand as they ran. His laughter joined her's as they burst through the treeline beside the shuttle.

"We made it!" Chakotay said, grabbing the ex-drone in a tight, celebratory hug, lifting her up in his exuberance. She gasped in surprise, grabbing his shoulders to steady herself, but smiled at him as he let her back down to her feet and pecked a kiss on her forehead.

"Well, it's about time you two to showed back up."

The sound of B'Elanna's amused voice sobered the couple, and Seven slipped from Chakotay's grasp before he could think to tighten his grip. The blonde stood still and stoic, hands clasped behind her back. Her hair was loose, and wild- the only evidence of the trial she had endured. Chakotay was drenched in sweat, his short, dark hair plastered to his forehead, and his grey shirt wet from neck to navel. Obviously, he was the more affected of the two.

Harry and Tom laughed at Chakotay's behavior from their place at the campfire. B'Elanna only smiled, amused, turning back to the fruit she was peeling. "We were just about to come looking for you guys."

Exuberance twisted into confusion. "What do you mean you were 'about' to..?" Chakotay scowled. He and Seven shared a bewildered look.

"We were just saying you'd been gone all day, and maybe we should come looking for you." Harry elaborated. "And then you two come barreling out of the woods before we could even get up!" He smiled. "Speak of the devil, eh?"

Tom lifted up the lid-turned-bowl in his hands as the couple walked to the fire. "We found edible fruit while you guys were gone." said Tom. "And some berries and eggs for breakfast."

"But you were in the woods with us." Seven frowned. "You were looking for us."

It was Tom, Harry, and B'Elanna's turn to look confused. B'Elanna was the first to speak. "No, we've been here for a couple of hours." she said, her voice slow, "We only just decided a minute ago that we were going to go look for you. We hadn't even stood up yet."

"No, you were in the woods, yelling for us." Chakotay argued. "Harry, Tom, we saw you guys!"

"Harry was lost past the creek." said Seven. "We scaled a ridge to retrieve you." She said the last as she looked Harry in the eyes. "You wouldn't answer us when we yelled out to you."

"Seven, I swear, I've been here with Tom and B'Elanna all day." returned the young ensign. "We left the shuttle for a couple of hours to go get some more of this fruit Tom found, but we never saw you two."

"Did you find the samples you were after?" B'Elanna asked, wiping the juice from her fingers onto her pants leg. "You were gone all day."

"Later." Chakotay brushed the question off, concentrating on Harry. "We literally followed you across a creek, and up a cliff face, Harry." He put his hand on Seven's knee beside his. "Seven almost fell off the damn thing when we followed you back down!"

"I don't know what to tell you guys..." Harry pouted, bewildered. "We never saw any creek- and I certainly haven't crossed one."

Chakotay and Seven shared another baffled look. "You saw what I saw, right, _querida_? _No estoy loco_."

"I saw Ensign Kim across the creek. I saw Tom and Harry in the woods just now." Seven answered. "I have an eidetic memory- it was them."

"Well, eidetic memory or not," said Tom, separating some fruit out onto another canister lid, "There was no search party, nor any creek that I could see. We went South to find this fruit. You guys went Northeast, right?" He held out the lid to his perplexed friends. "Here, sit and eat. This is much better than emergency rations."

"Thanks." said Chakotay, accepting the lid. He held it out to let Seven grab a piece first, watching her carefully bite into the chunk before they gingerly took a seat on the log across from the others. He felt like he had been dropped into the twilight zone, as Tom would have put it. With a sigh, he popped a chunk of the fruit in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "This is good." he mumbled around a mouthful.

With a plate of her own, B'Elanna nodded agreement. "Much better than those bland wafers."

"If you weren't in the woods." Chakotay started, swallowing his mouthful. "Then what in the hell did we see?"

"When you first think you saw Harry in the woods, what were you doing?" asked Tom.

"We had just been hiking through the jungle. After collecting samples at an outcropping Northeast of here, we changed our direction to Northwest towards another sample indicated on the tricorder." Seven began. "We continued hiking until we found a creek, and stopped there for approximately fifty-three minutes."

"Yeah." concurred the commander. "The water was good and cold, so we cooled down for a bit, and we heard Harry yelling for us as we were getting ready to leave." Another hunk of sweet fruit was popped into his mouth. "I spotted him across the creek, walking along this huge ridge."

"You saw him?" Tom cocked one eyebrow curiously.

"Well, never full on." Seven admitted quietly, plucking another piece of fruit from Chakotay's lid. "We would see him moving around in the trees- a black and yellow uniform, black hair." She chewed her bite thoughtfully before continuing. "But we heard your voice calling out to us."

"Did you use your tricorder to scan for lifesigns?" asked B'Elanna.

Seven gave Chakotay a reproachful look. "No. Our tricorder was taken out of commission. It short-circuited." At B'Elanna's curious expression, she elaborated. "It was dropped in the water."

"So you were overheated from a long hike lugging your stuff around." said Tom, fully in nurse mode. "And then shocked your systems by getting into cold water. Sounds to me like you guys might have hallucinated the whole thing."

"I do not hallucinate." Seven said sharply.

"Seven, you're human. Humans sometimes hallucinate." Tom said gently. "It's not a death sentence. It explains the whole situation- you were probably in the early stages of hyperthermia without even realizing it, then threw it the other way with the cold water. I'm assuming you guys got wet since you say you crossed the creek to follow your own personal Harry, right?"

"Yeah." Chakotay sighed. "Maybe you're right." Seven didn't seem convinced, but stopped herself from adding anything more.

"We will all just have to be a bit more careful. The weather on this planet is pretty crazy- I'm not surprised that it got to you two." Tom said with a small aire of finality. He promptly changed the subject. "Anyway, we should go back to that grove tomorrow and pick more of this stuff." He held up one of the unpeeled green fruits. "These are great!"

 **XXX**

 **"Lucy In The Sky"- The Beatles. Can I just say that I HATE 'You Are My Sunshine'? I used to sing it to my daughter when she was a newborn, and I burned myself out on it. I figured Tom would enjoy the Beatles seeing as he is so obsessed with the 1900's, and that he and Harry had managed to rope Seven into more than just one holodeck session, so why not?**

 **~LM**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: Welcome to chapter 6! I wasn't going to post this chapter until I was almost done writing the next one, but I got some really freaking AWESOME reviews today, so here we go!**

 **Obligatory Legalities: I don't own them, and I swear that is not what you're hearing from behind my basement door... Disregard that last statement.**

 **XXX**

"Why am I always stuck against the wall? It's cold back here." Harry grumbled, rolling up into his blanket at the end of the row of camp mattresses. Although the blankets were supposedly rated for negative twenty degrees Celsius, they sure didn't feel like they reflected much heat.

"I didn't figure you'd want to cuddle, Starfleet." B'Elanna dead-panned, pulling her jacket tighter around her before laying down on her mat. She gave Harry a smirk and a wink, pulling a blush across his face. He stuck his tongue out at her with a good-natured chuckle.

"Do I see you making eyes at my girl, Buster?" Tom teased, easing down onto his mat between the two. "Don't make me jealous, Harry! I thought I was the only one you loved!"

"Oh, my God, Tom." Harry mock-groaned, "If I tell you I love you, will you trade me places?"

"Oh, Harry, I already know how you feel."

"Cold, Tom. I feel cold."

Seven, curled up in her own blanket on the bench above their heads, snorted. She rolled her eyes, but didn't look up from the PADD she was reading in her warm cocoon.

"Seven of Nine," Tom smiled up at the ex-drone. "Was that a laugh?"

Caught out, Seven schooled her smirk into a frown. "No, Tom, that was most certainly not a laugh." She refused to look down at him, uncertain if she could continue to control the upturn of her lips at what she was sure was one of his silliest grins.

"I think that was a little bit of a laugh." Tom sat back up to face the blonde. Her eyes flitted from her PADD to his face and back, her lips pursing. "Are you sure?"

"Quite, Lieutenant."

"Oh, I think it was a little laugh." Chakotay added, pulling the lantern down off its hook on the ceiling. He clicked it off, plunging the room into near darkness. The other lantern was perched in the doorway between the cabin and midsection, illuminating the carpet at their feet. He set the extinguished lantern back on its hook before taking a seat beside Seven. There was just enough illumination that he could see the mock-betrayal in Seven's eyes.

"I was merely clearing my throat, Commander." Whatever Seven was reading on her PADD was put to an end as Chakotay casually plucked it from her fingertips and skimmed it over. "Really?"

"What'cha reading, Crewman?" he asked, scrolling up. He couldn't make heads or tails of the Borg numerical code displayed across the little screen. "Oh." He scrunched his nose at her playful smirk. "Another harlequin novel?"

"Multi-spacial displacement theory. Species 0375." Seven corrected, snatching the PADD back from him. "Harlequin novels, despite the Captain's penchant for reading them, are irrelevant."

"The Captain reads harlequin romance novels?" B'Elanna snorted, cuddling up into the warmth of her husband's blanket. "That's hilarious."

"You should participate in one of her harlequin holodeck programs, B'Elanna. They are most enlightening." deadpanned the ex-Borg. She smiled when the half-Klingon laughed harder. Tom and Harry joined in.

"And just what did these holodeck programs enlighten you about?" Tom chortled.

"Why one should not participate in harlequin holonovels." Another burst of laughter filled the room.

"Why don't you go ahead and lay down, Seven." suggested Chakotay, standing up and retrieving the lit lantern. "All of you should get some sleep while you can."

"What about you?"

"I'm coming, too." With a reassuring smile, he clicked the lantern off. Without the light, he had to feel with his foot for the bench in the pitch black, but when he found it, he gave Seven's blanket a tug. " _Venga, chica._ " He waited until he heard her click the PADD off before moving back to give her room to scoot down.

Seven settled next to B'Elanna on her camp mattress. Chakotay sunk down behind her, combining their blankets and pulling her back flush to his stomach with a tired sigh. With her cybernetic eye, she could see the cabin in shades of grey and green, and watched B'Elanna in front of her stare sightlessly up at the ceiling. Tom pulled his arm back from the swell of his wife's stomach to turn to face Harry behind him. Outside was silent; inside was quiet but for the sounds of breathing and shifting blankets.

"Are you sure this is all the blankets?" Harry groused, burrowing tighter into his thermal blanket.

"Yes, Harry." said B'Elanna. Her tone of voice was like a mother speaking to an annoying child. "We're lucky there were this many with how Flyboy keeps this ship stocked."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Tom, voice indignant.

"There's a twenty-first century boombox in the overhead compartment but not one pillow? No extra relays, no extra tools. There's not even enough rations for-"

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"The _Val Jean_ had one replicator that hardly ever worked." Chakotay said quietly behind Seven's ear, his breath across her skin raising goosebumps along her neck. "You kept that ship held together with a laserspanner and half-chewed bubblegum, B'Elanna."

The half-Klingon chuckled. "And a ton of engine grease."

"We rely on replicators too much." continued Chakotay, "No one ever thinks they will need wilderness training because we travel around on these huge starships with all the food and drink you could want, heat and air, artificial light... Situations like this are why they make you take Survivalist training at Starfleet."

"Cold or not, we can survive on this planet for another week." said Tom, turning on his back to stare up towards the ceiling. "We can eat the fruit from those trees. There's a whole grove of them- enough for weeks. I'm sure there are other edible things around, too. You guys found a stream, right? Maybe we could go fishing." He glanced sightlessly towards Chakotay and Seven's direction. "We can get water from there at least. Boom- food and water, done. Then we just have to get the samples we need for Voyager, and try to pretend this is a fun family camping trip."

"Because this is so fun." B'Elanna sighed.

"It could be worse." Chakotay tightened his arm around Seven's waist, nuzzling his face into her hair as he settled down for sleep.

"Right." Harry deadpanned. "We could be cold."

"All right- that's it. Come here." Tom reached out and grabbed Harry, pulling the now flailing younger man up close to him. "Hold still!" He tossed the other edge of his blanket over Harry's, pulling it halfway off of B'Elanna.

"Hey!" B'Elanna gasped at the sudden cold, elbowing Tom behind her as she twisted to reclaim her warmth.

"Let me go, Tom!" Harry struggled to loosen Tom's hold around his waist. "Tom!"

"No, you're cold. Warm up or shut up, Harry." Tom laughed.

"Children, children!" Chakotay sat up, blindly reaching out to grab Tom. Instead, he grabbed B'Elanna, who yelped, reaching out and shoving Seven.

" _Aj!_ Lietenant!" Seven groused, rubbing the slighted skin around her forearm implant.

" _ENOUGH!_ " B'Elanna's voice all but echoed in the quiet room, pulling a pained gasp from Seven, and freezing the three men in their places. "I am tired, and I am cold, and if you don't settle down and quit trying to hog my blanket, I will make you both _VERY SORRY_! Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Harry and Tom chorused. B'Elanna, satisfied, yanked her blanket back, turned her back on Tom and Harry, and began regaining her lost body heat. The two men released each other, but didn't separate. Chakotay laid back down behind Seven, his arm reclaiming her waist.

"Goodnight." B'Elanna's voice was mock cheer. Leaving Tom behind, she instead shimmied up against Seven, sandwiching the blonde between the two ex-Maquis officers.

Seven held her breath for a handful of heartbeats as B'Elanna invaded her personal space. It wasn't that she didn't occasionally enjoy the presence of the shorter woman, but she'd only recently become used to letting just about anyone be so bodily close to her. Usually when she and the engineer were this near to one another it was in the middle of a good shouting match in engineering. Finally, seeing that B'Elanna wasn't about to move, the ex-Borg gave in and relaxed. Behind her, Chakotay rearranged the blankets again, adding B'Elanna's to their own so that the three shared, leaving Tom and Harry to fend for themselves.

"Much better." B'Elanna mumbled, already half asleep.

"I concur."

 **XXX**

Warm- she was finally warm! B'Elanna sighed, fighting wakefullness with all her might, keeping her eyelids screwed shut tight. A tiny pair of fists on her bladder, and set of little feet in her ribs, though, managed to rouse her to full consciousness. "Damnit..." she sighed quietly, reluctantly opening her eyes.

There was hardly enough light coming from the open cockpit to illuminate the room, but her vision adjusted after a handful of seconds of blindness. Instead of Tom's hand over her stomach Chakotay's heavy, muscular arm was slung out over both women. Seven's arm was also over her side, her metal-laced hand pressed behind B'Elanna's shoulder blades. The two women were pressed stomach to stomach- or at least as pressed together as they could be with B'Elanna's baby bump between them. Their faces were so close that B'Elanna could feel Seven's breath ghosting across her chin as the blonde slept. Chakotay's face was just visible behind Seven's head, his breath tousling a lock of cornsilk hair back and forth in front of his face as he slept. Behind B'Elanna, Tom and Harry had cuddled up for heat, effectively trapping her in place in the middle of the large makeshift camp bed.

Another not so gentle prod of her bladder brought B'Elanna back to focus, pushing her to attempt to untangle herself from the people around her. Seven's arm tightened over her side when she wiggled, her strength even in her sleep enough to hold B'Elanna down. ' _Are you kidding me?_ ' The Klingon hybrid blew out a semi-frustrated breath, reaching down and gently pulling Seven's arm back from her side, and Chakotay's with it. Chakotay's hand was easy to move, Seven's was like trying to move a bag of cement.

"Seven..." B'Elanna poked the girl's shoulder, running a finger down across the implant on her forearm through Chakotay's red and black jacket. Seven's eyelids barely fluttered. "Seven, wake up."

"Hmm?" breathed the blonde, her eyes blinking open. She quickly focused on the smaller woman laying face to face with her, then glanced around the dark room. "It is still night."

"Good morning, Snugglebunny. And, I know it is." returned the brunette, "And as much as I'm enjoying the Klingon sandwich, I need a trip to the bathroom before this baby continues using my bladder as a punching bag." She nearly laughed at the brief look of confusion that crossed the blonde's face before Seven sat up, pulling her arm back.

"I apologize." Seven said quietly, letting the brunette sit up beside her.

"Now.. where did I put that tricorder..?" B'Elanna mumbled to herself, carefully climbing out of the blankets, shivering in the cool air. Her hands closed around the little piece of technology at the end of the mattress, and she flipped it open to begin a scan.

"Did you find it?" Seven asked quietly, turning to readjust the blankets over Chakotay before he could wake up.

"Yep. Looking to make sure there isn't anything big and alive and predatory outside the ship so I can run to the bathroom... And it looks all clear." answered B'Elanna. "Help me open the hatch, will you?"

"Yes." Seven acquiesced, standing up with B'Elanna, stepping carefully over Tom and Harry as she pulled Chakotay's jacket tighter around her shoulders. B'Elanna flipped the locking switch on the right side of the hatch, and Seven unlocked the left. Then, the two of them pushed the heavy door until it cracked open. The door opened a good six inches before it hung, and whined in protest.

" _¿A dónde vas?_ " Chakotay's voice was thick with sleep as he sat up on his mattress.

" _Al baño._ " answered B'Elanna, watching the hatch finish lowering to the ground with a soft thud. Beside her, Seven had retrieved two flashlights, and strapped one to her wrist. With it's light, the two women warily inched down the opened hatch. B'Elanna continued to scan with the tricorder while Seven swept the flashlight along the treeline around them.

"Not by yourselves, you're not." Chakotay half grumbled, walking out behind them, pulling the sleeves of his grey shirt down to cover his wrists, and rubbing his hands together to generate some heat in them. Like the night before, the temperature was just above freezing, and quick to pull a shiver from even the sturdiest of individuals.

"We are grown women, perfectly capable of going to the bathroom by ourselves, Chakotay." said B'Elanna absently, folding up her tricorder.

"I'm not here to hold your hand." said the commander with a laugh, stepping up to the dying campfire and holding his hands out over the glowing red coals. "Don't go too far in."

"No peeking!" laughed B'Elanna, stepping into the treeline closest to the shuttle. "You, either, Snugglebunny."

Seven blanched, scowling at the treeline. Chakotay raised an eyebrow her way in perfect mimicry, followed by a soft snort of good-natured laughter. "So... Snugglebunny, huh? Something I should know about?" When a blush started along Seven's cheekbones, he smirked. "Should I be worried?"

"No!" hissed the blonde, crossing her arms.

Inside the treeline, B'Elanna laughed as she fixed the waistline of her black pants back in place. "Don't worry, Chakotay, I'm not after your _novia_." She smoothed her uniform jacket back in place. "Who would have thought that Seven likes to cuddle when she slee- _OUCH_!" Something dark and hard hit her shoulder and rolled down her side. Shining her flashlight at her feet revealed a flat rock the size of her palm. "Damnnit, Seven!"

"B'Elanna?" Chakotay started to the treeline, Seven at his heels. "Are you okay?"

"I was only teasing, Seven!" B'Elanna stormed out of the treeline, a ball of hormonal Klingon fury. She dodged around Chakotay and grabbed Seven's arms. "You didn't have to throw a _baQa'_ rock at me!"

"Lieutenant!" Seven less than gently removed herself from B'Elanna's grasp. "I assure you I did no such thing!" Chakotay grabbed the smaller woman by the shoulders, holding her back from attacking the blonde.

"Oh, so you're saying a rock just fell out of the sky and hit me in the arm?" hissed B'Elanna. "What if you had hit me in the stomach?"

"B'Elanna, I did not throw anything at you!"

"She didn't throw anything at you, B'Elanna." said Chakotay, holding the pregnant Klingon back. "I was right here with her!"

"What's going on out here?" Tom and Harry stumbled down the hatch, rubbing sleep from their eyes and tugging on boots. "B'Elanna?"

"The Borg threw a _baQa'_ rock at me!"

"Seven?" Harry gave the blonde a surprised look.

"I most certainly did not!"

"So who did then, huh?"

As Seven opened her mouth to retort, a streak of black flew from the forest, striking her in the temple just above her starburst implant. Her head whipped back from the force, and she stumbled into Harry, who kept them both from falling into the still-hot coals of their leftover campfire. The ex-Borg ran the metallic fingertips of her left hand over her temple, pulling them away bloody, before slipping into consciousness. B'Elanna immediately stopped struggling against Chakotay's grip, pulling her tricorder from her pocket and flipping it open. Chakotay was at Seven's side in a heartbeat as Harry gently laid her down, tilting her head to see her wound.

"What's out there?!" Harry asked, his eyes scanning the treeline for hidden enemies.

"There's nothing showing up!" B'Elanna answered, spinning slowly in a circle as she scanned the treeline.

"That's a bad gash." Chakotay said, wiping the blood from Seven's pale skin. Another rock flew from the woodline, whizzing by his head and hitting Tom in the leg.

"What the hell?!" B'Elanna whipped around, holding her tricorder up to Tom. "There is nothing showing up on this thing! Nothing! Not one animal, not one insect, not one life sign!"

Another rock hit Harry in the chest. The younger man yelled out in surprise and pain. "What the hell?"

"Let's get back in the-" Tom was cut off as rocks flew from left and right, raining down on the clearing and the shuttle like a waterfall of earth. Hundreds of rocks pummeled the ground and the people unfortunate enough to be standing on it, striking hard enough to bruise and bring blood.

"Inside!" Chakotay yelled, scooping Seven's unconscious form up and running up the ramp. Tom shoved B'Elanna inside, pulling Harry up behind him. The two younger men hurriedly lifted the hatch, pulling it shut and locking it as the onslaught of raining rock continued. Inside, the sound of the hull being pummeled reverberated loudly through the shuttle.

Chakotay laid Seven on the medical bed, pulling out the medkit and flipping it open. Tom joined him, using B'Elanna's tricorder to scan the blonde's wound. Ignoring the cold, Chakotay pulled his shirt up over his head, balling it up and holding it against the blonde's temple.

"No sign of epidermal hematoma." Tom said, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the concussive noise in the shuttle. "The injury isn't life threatening. She should wake up soon."

"What the hell?" B'Elanna had grabbed the extra tricorder from its drawer in the midsection, holding it up where Harry and she could see its screen. "There's not one life sign showing up anywhere!" She gave an incredulous look to Chakotay and Tom. "Who is throwing all these _qeylIS quvHa'_ rocks?" As though a switch had been hit, the assault on the Flyer came to an abrupt end. The sounds died, leaving a heavy ringing in their ears.

"Could it be some kind of geological phenomena? Electromagnetic, maybe?" asked Harry. "Maybe the weird weather is affecting the magnetic poles?"

"No idea." said Tom.

With a wince and a soft groan, Seven pulled her hand up to rest over her temple, blinking heavy lidded eyes open to meet the concerned brown orbs above her. "What..?"

"Welcome back." Chakotay said with a smile, moving his shirt away so Tom could run the dermal regenerator over Seven's still bleeding temple. "You got hit pretty hard, sweetheart."

"Good as new." declared Tom, putting away the dermal regenerator. "I can give you an analgesic if you have a headache- which I would imagine you do after getting hit like that. Unfortunately, I am all out of lollipops."

"No, I will be fine, thank you." she answered, sitting up. "What was throwing rocks?"

"We have no idea." answered the half-Klingon. "There are no life signs on the tricorder." She blew out a frustrated breath. "If we could get Tactical functioning, we could do some more in depth scans."

"All that will have to wait for morning and daylight." said Tom, packing away the medkit. "And heat. I'm still freezing."

"Tell me about it." said Chakotay with a roll of his eyes, standing shirtless and near shivering beside Seven. When she noticed, and began to remove his jacket, he stopped her. "Just need a blanket, Seven. You stay warm." She scowled, watching him retrieve his blanket and throw it on like a cape.

"Should we go back to sleep?" Harry asked from where he stood in the doorway to the midsection. Looking at the sky through the viewscreen, he could tell it would still be hours before the sun decided to come up.

"We've got at least four hours until daylight, Harry." said Tom, coming to look over his shoulder. "Easily four." He sighed, turning back to the mattresses and blankets.

"We are perfectly safe in here." Chakotay tossed his bloodied shirt on the biobed before moving back to his mattress. A gentle prod of Seven's back convinced her to join him. B'Elanna was already re-wrapping up in her blanket in the middle. "We may as well sleep. When we wake up, we can investigate the woods around the shuttle. There had to have been a dozen of whatever it was throwing stones, and they will surely have left evidence of themselves behind. Maybe this planet wasn't as uninhabited as we originally thought."

"Whatever they were," B'Elanna began, a slight scowl on her face. "They don't show up on the tricorders. They may not be carbon-based lifeforms."

"We will deal with that possibility in the morning."

 **XXX**

"Up and at 'em, crewman!" Chakotay ran his silver canteen along the metal screen door of the lockers, the concussive metal's rapid clanging effectively jolting his four crewmates out of apparently deep slumbers. He couldn't help the snicker as Tom and Harry jumped to sit up, grabbing their ears. B'Elanna and Seven, while having jerked at the intrusive noise, merely turned their heads to blearily glare at him.

" _Eres serio, Cabrón?_ " B'Elanna groused, pulling her blanket back over her head, and settling back down against Seven's back.

"That was not nice, Chakotay." Harry grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"But effective." returned the older man, dropping the canteen onto the biobed with the rest of his effects. "It's a long hike. We should get started early."

"I have all of fifteen feet to walk- I'm sleeping in." B'Elanna's voice was muffled from beneath the blankets. Seven sighed, pushing her blanket back and sitting up. "No... _va_..." she grumbled, watching Seven stand up and fold her blanket.

"Chakotay's right, 'Lanna." Tom said, reaching a hand out and patting her hip. "Come on- we can have some breakfast together before I have to go play Boy Scout with Tonto and the Lone Ranger."

"Who?" Seven's nose wrinkled for all of three point seven six seconds.

B'Elanna waved her question off. "Don't get him started." she said as she regretfully sat up. Her eyes cast one last Klingon glare Chakotay's way before she balled up her blankets and grumpily got out of her bed.

"Come on- I'm anxious to see outside." Chakotay said as he undid the locks on the hatch. "And figure out what the heck threw all those rocks at us last night." He gestured for Seven to help him lower the ramp, giving her a dimpled grin when she stepped up beside him. She only half-smirked his way, reaching up with him and pushing the heavy hatch door forward. "There could be a new type of lifeform out there just waiting to be discovered. That they use rocks as projectiles means that they are intelligent enough to use some form of tools, and therefore..." The commander's voice trailed off as the hatch came to rest on the ground. "What the..?"

"Chakotay..?" Seven's voice was equally absent as she took a tentative step out of the shuttle.

"Hey, what's wrong, you two?" Harry scrambled to his feet to follow, Tom and B'Elanna quickly at his heels.

The ground was completely clear. Not one rock lay anywhere within a hundred meters of the Flyer. There was no sign of pock-marks on the ground from their impact. Not one thing was out of place in the fire pit- not one bit of ash, burned wood, or firewood shifted. The logs they used to sit on were still perfectly in place, as was the pile of kindling next to the rocks surrounding the firepit. The canister lids that had been used for plates before being hand-washed and set to dry around the fire were still leaned precariously on their rocks.

"What the..?" Tom eased down the slanted hatch door like a wounded lamb to the slaughter. Once at the bottom of the ramp, he toed the dirt as if he thought it would swallow him alive. When he was not, in fact, harmed, he stepped up behind Seven and Chakotay. "Where did all the rocks go?"

Chakotay had crouched down on his haunches, and ran a handful of the sandy dirt through his fingers. "I don't know, Tom."

Seven walked back up the ramp, slipping between a confused Harry and confounded B'Elanna, and picked up the tricorder from its discarded place on the bio bed. She initiated a scan as she returned to Chakotay's side, holding the little beeping device out over the ground. After a few seconds, she turned grave eyes to Chakotay. "There is no sign of disturbance."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling pretty disturbed right about now." Harry's face was taut as he surveyed the crater they rested in, absently reaching up to finger the bruise that had bloomed across his sternum, evidence of their previous assault.

"I concur." murmured Seven with a brief raising of eyebrows. With a sigh, she gave up her scan and began a diagnostic on the tricorder.

"Tell me I did not imagine all that last night." B'Elanna rubbed a phantom pain in her shoulder.

With a dark scowl, Chakotay stood up and stalked into the Flyer. A heartbeat later he was back outside, his bloody shirt from earlier balled in his hand. He unrolled it, revealing the dried blood staining the chest. "This isn't imagined. Something hit Seven hard enough to make her bleed."

Seven scowled at the stain. "I have ruined your uniform shirt."

Chakotay waved her off with a brief grin. " _De nada_ , Seven."

"So we are in agreement, then?" B'Elanna started, turning her head to meet everyone's eyes individually. "We all saw.. felt- heard- all those rocks last night."

"Yeah." said Tom. Harry, Chakotay, and Seven nodded agreement.

" _¡Qué chingados!_ " B'Elanna hissed under her breath. "How could there be nothing?" She kicked over a log destined for the firepit, her eyes scanning the ground around her. "The force with which those rocks were thrown would have left something! There should be a thousand rocks everywhere!"

"Could they have," Harry began, trying to make sense of the situation, "I don't know- sunk into the ground? What if they weren't really rocks?"

Chakotay immediately latched on. "Right? What if they were meteorological? It's freezing cold here at night- what if they were chunks of ice?"

"Then they would have been cold." said Seven, watching the screen on her tricorder as it slowly ran its diagnosis. "They didn't feel cold."

"No offense, Snugglebunny, but you were unconscious for most of it." retorted B'Elanna, coming to look over the blonde's arm at the screen. "It was cold outside- they might have been cold."

"If they were cold, and made of ice," The ex-Borg began with a roll of her eyes, "Then the heat from the sun would have melted them, leaving this whole crater one large mud slick."

"Thanks a lot for the assessment, Tuvok." deadpanned Harry. "Come on- an hour ago it was just over ten degrees Celsius, and now it is easily thirty. With it heating up that rapidly, chunks of ice could have been evaporated enough to not leave much of a trace."

"Then where are all the tiny upsets in the dirt where they hit?"

Harry's confidence slipped. "Well.. I don't know.. But I'm sure there's a logical explanation for it."

"Of course there is." concurred Tom.

"Well, I'm ready for this logical explanation anytime any of you are ready to come up with it." Chakotay muttered, heading for the treeline. "I'm checking for footprints."

"I'm with you." said Tom, hurrying after him. The others stood and waited, watching the two men traipse through the woodline in a large circle around the shuttle. Once they had made a full pass, they came back into the clearing, no closer to an answer than they were before. "Nothing."

"This is ridiculous." Harry ran a hand through his hair, then wearily across his face. "Totally ridiculous."

Chakotay took in a deep breath, releasing it and his anger in a deep sigh. "What the hell is going on in this place?"

"I'm done." B'Elanna hissed. "I'm done!" She turned on the balls of her feet and marched back into the shuttle. "I'm gonna fix this damn thing if it takes me a year!" The four left outside could hear her banging around in the cockpit, spouting out Klingon and Spanish curses in between.

"So..." Harry craned his head back to see if he could make B'Elanna's form out across the open shuttle. "About that hike..."

"I volunteer." said Tom, listening to his wife list all the words in Klingon he knew by heart.

"Okay then, we should get packed up and go." said Chakotay. "This time, I plan to bring extra supplies- flashlight, rations, extra tricorder." He turned to Seven beside him. "You should stay and help work on the Flyer, Seven." He didn't miss the scowl that turned the corners of her lips down for a heartbeat or two. "We will be back before dark."

"Be careful." said the ex-drone, turning her head resignedly towards the Flyer.

 **XXX**

 **I want to say thank you so very much to Voyagerfictionfan, EMcKinney, Juddysbuddy, The Cheshire Cheese, Dee474, NyGi, and scifiromance for reviews! XOXO**

 **Thanks for reading! Please review!**

 **~The Lady Mage**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes: Welcome to chapter 7! Thank you so much to the people who have left me reviews, both on this and on 'The Secrets We Keep'! I appreciate everyone who takes the time out of their day to let me know what they think of my story! Special thanks to scifiromance for an interesting chat- your thoughtful words gave me the pat on the back I needed to get another chapter out! Only about fifteen to go now.. or thirty. I mean, who's to say, really. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!**

 **Obligatory Legalities: There'd be seven more seasons, a spinoff in the Alpha Quadrant, and AU Spinoff dismissing Endgame and mocking the Admiral, and a kick-ass toy line by now if I owned it. JS. Paramount, get on mah level.**

 **XXX**

"Tom..." Harry paused his step as Chakotay beat a vine out of their way with his walking stick, and looked back at his best friend hiking behind him as they had been for the last two hours. "If you don't stop humming the Lone Ranger theme song, I may have to hurt you."

"Well, there's not much more to do than that, is there?" Tom said with a teasing smirk. "It's so dense out here that we're stuck single-file. I can't even see where we're going over Chakotay's head up there."

"We are going where the tricorder tells us to go, Tom." Harry answered, his voice revealing the depth of his annoyance. "If you want to know where we are going, why don't you lead?"

"My arm's getting tired, anyway." Chakotay said, turning and holding the staff out to Tom. "Your turn."

"Okay, elders and children to the back." Tom laughed, taking the staff and trading places. When Chakotay snorted, and playfully punched his arm, Tom feigned injury. Harry finally cracked a smile. "Onward!" declared the blonde man, using the stick to hold down a particularly barbed briar to be stepped over. "Hey, we could play a game."

"I swear to all that is sacred, if you dare say the words ' _I spy with my little_ -'"

"Never mind, then." Tom said flatly before changing the subject. "So, Chakotay... you and Seven, huh?"

"What?" Harry paused his step, looking up at the two men in front of him, confused.

"Tom." Chakotay rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I'm happy for you. For both of you."

"Chakotay, you and Seven are dating?" Harry needed confirmation before his eyebrows melded into his hairline. He'd heard the rumors himself in the mess hall, but he'd never dared ask either of them- Chakotay out of respect, and Seven because, honestly, he wasn't sure he would like her answer. "Since when?"

"Since about- what- four months ago now? Almost five." he answered.

"Oh, wow- that long?" Harry tried to wipe the surprise from his face.

"You don't remember the exact date?" Tom asked incredulously. "You better go back in your personal logs. Women will randomly ask for that kind of information!"

"What are you talking about, Tom?"

"They do! You'll be sitting on the couch watching television and all of a sudden they will lean over and ask you hey do you remember when we had our first date? And if you don't pop that information out on command you'll regret it- and miss the last of the cartoons." When Chakotay and Harry guffawed behind him, Tom stopped and turned to them. "Seriously."

"Okay then, Romeo- when was your first date with B'Elanna?" asked Harry.

"Stardate 48770." Tom rolled his eyes when his companions only laughed harder. "I'm telling you two- they will remember this stuff." He pointed at Chakotay with his thumb. "And you are especially in trouble, Chakotay- your girlfriend has a built in chronometer."

Chakotay sobered for a moment, putting his thumb to his chin in thought. "Hmm." he hummed. "Stardate 54628.. A couple of weeks or so after we all managed to get off Quarra."

"Wow- really?"

"Yeah." returned Chakotay, turning to take the walking stick and resuming to lead. He glanced down at the screen of the tricorder, and adjusted their heading. "While the lot of you were still trying to regain your memories, Seven, B'Elanna, the Doctor, and I were the only ones that were totally lucid. We ate together in the mess a couple of times... started talking from there."

 **XXX**

Two canisters of water stood filled to the brim and lidded next to a handful of rations wrappers, two discarded and empty canteens, and three not-so-neat piles of standard issue Starfleet uniforms and shoes. Occasionally, a breeze would blow and one of the wrappers would flatten against the canister with a soft crinkle, and the water would lap dangerously close to the smallest pair of black pants discarded there. Out ten feet in the water, three human males floated on their backs, enjoying the cool water on such a hot day.

"See?" Tom said serenely, chewing on a piece of ration bar. "Not too bad for a camping trip."

"Better not tell the girls about this." Chakotay said with a smirking grin. "Well, not B'Elanna, at least. I think Seven has had all the swimming she can stand for a while."

"Oh?" Tom scrolled his eyes over to the commander floating next to him. "Did you two take a little dip yesterday?" He smirked. "Is that how the tricorder was shorted out?"

"Maybe." said Chakotay with a laugh. He twisted his body in the water, and put his feet down onto the pebbled creek bottom, his momentum sending a wave of water over Tom's face. The blonde flailed in surprise, coming up sputtering and blowing water out of his nose to the great amusement of his companions.

 **XXX**

"Hand me that laserspanner." B'Elanna held her hand out blindly behind her, her face and chest firmly lodged beneath the floor panel under the tactical station. Seven lifted the requested tool from the little tray beside her, reaching over B'Elanna's belly- exaggeratedly rounded due to her current contorted position- and set the tool in the half Klingon's hand. " _nuqneH_."

"You are welcome." returned the ex-drone.

"Okay, now try it."

With a barely disguised sigh, Seven reached up and clicked her metal-tipped fingers across the glass console, taking no care in which sensors she pressed. Predictably, nothing happened. "Negative." she murmured, straightening her legs out in front of her and tugging the ankles of her sweatpants up to her knees. The heat in the shuttle was becoming oppressively hot- even to her enhanced system.

"Damnit." hissed B'Elanna, wiggling her way out of the floor panel, and sitting up beside the blonde. "That should have at least given us access to the computer core!" She ran the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead, pushing her damp hair out of her face.

"The entire console would have to be-"

"Rewired! Yes-I know, Seven!" B'Elanna snarled. "But we don't have enough wire!" The smaller woman caught herself, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Seven." she said, pinching the bridge of her nose to stem the headache she could feel coming on.

"Apology accepted." returned Seven, reaching behind her to lift her wet hair up off her neck.

"I'm just burning up in here, and this is frustrating, and..." The Klingon blew a discouraged breath out her nose. "Stupid hormones." To the great surprise of the ex-Borg, and the embarrassment of the half-Klingon, hot tears began to roll down B'Elanna's face. With a sharp harumph, B'Elanna pivoted away so that she wasn't facing Seven, angrily brushing the tears from her face, but unable to stop them from falling.

Seven had frozen stiff at the sight of her pregnant companion's tears, whether for fear of making it worse or redirecting B'Elanna's temper onto herself, she wasn't sure. Her hands, midway between her neck and her lap, hung clenched in the air, her eyes widened in surprise. ' _Oh.._ ' she thought. ' _This does not bode well... What is it the Captain does when..._ ' Slowly, gently, she reached out her human hand, and settled it on B'Elanna's shoulder. "B'Elanna-"

"What?" She couldn't tame the Klingon fire in her voice.

With a brief scowl, Seven racked the files in her head for any way to proceed. Finally, she settled on what the Captain had said to her once when she had been upset after her link to the Collective had been severed. "Everything will be all right." she said softly.

B'Elanna snorted. "We still have several days before Voyager will try to rendezvous with us- then another few days before they can make it here and scan for us. It's only going to get worse." She glanced at Seven over her shoulder. "There isn't much that would be worse than this."

The blonde bit her lip, a soft scowl drawing one eyebrow down. "Well... at least Vorik isn't here."

B'Elanna snorted again- this time in amusement. "Isn't that the truth." She managed a smile. "I don't think I could stand him and his damned logic right now."

"Better that he remain on Voyager." Seven quirked a small smile of her own. "Predictably, if he were here- he would wish to strip every unfused wire from the entire shuttle to piece together one chain of relays-"

"And then use it to play Vulcan prayer chants until all our ears bled." A brief but hearty laugh bubbled out of B'Elanna's throat. She turned her body back around to face the ex-drone. "I'm ready for a break. How about you?"

"I do not need-"

"Don't give me the high and mighty Borg superiority line." B'Elanna rolled her eyes, shifting up onto her knees so she could pull herself up to stand against the dead console. "It's hotter than _Gre'Thor_ in here. I'm going to get some water."

Water was tempting enough to pull the blonde to her feet, and the two women moved from the hot cockpit to the slightly cooler, windowless aft. B'Elanna grabbed one of the canteens and Seven's PADD from the night before, settling on the bench and fanning herself with the thin electronic device. Seven took up the second canteen and chose to stand in the hatch and watch the heat from the sun make the air squiggle over the ground.

The water in her canteen was ambient temperature, but felt cool sliding down her throat. It would be nice to be able to take more than a few sips at a time when the men brought more water back to camp. Seven recapped her canteen. "The temperature should be at its peak now." she said, glancing at B'Elanna with a reassuring turn of her lips. "It will only cool down from here."

"Thank _Kahless_." breathed the half-Klingon. "I'm about a filament's breadth away from stripping." She smirked, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the metal wall. "I should have brought a swim suit. If I have to be this hot I may as well be working on my tan."

"Your tan? Elaborate."

"You put on a bathing suit and lay in the sun to darken your skin." explained B'Elanna. "When people go to the beach and lay out in the sand, that's usually what they're doing." Her eyes sized the blonde up top to bottom. "Though I bet you'd burn long before you tanned, as fair as you are."

"A likely assumption." returned Seven with a half-smirk. "Perhaps that is an activity best saved for the holodeck."

"When Voyager comes back for us, I'm going to cash in all of my holodeck time," began the brunette with a smile. "-and we're going to take a weekend off and go somewhere cold- like to a ski resort or to some little cabin in the woods in the middle of January. Tom and Chakotay and Harry can come, too. I'm going to go barefoot in the snow." She perked up, sitting up straight. "Speaking of barefoot..." B'Elanna's shoes and socks were off in a heartbeat. "Kahless, that's so much better..."

Seven scowled. Without her shoes, she could release heat from the soles of her feet, and hopefully drop a few degrees, but if for some reason she needed to quickly run outside where the ground was full of splintered wood, she would be at a disadvantage. ' _Heat or splinters?_ ' Making up her mind, she reached down and slipped her own boots and socks off. "That _is_ better." she commented, enjoying the cool carpet under her flushed feet.

"See?" B'Elanna smiled, scooting down to lay out on the bench. "Hopefully you're right, and the temperature will begin to drop soon."

 **XXX**

"It's going to take at least a couple of weeks to get the Flyer back into shape, Tom, and you know it!" Harry said with a smirk. "The only romantic rendezvous you're going to be able to touch is on the holodeck."

"All she needs is some new wire." Tom laughed. "And a nacelle... and probably another computer core... a little engine grease and she'll be up and flying in no time."

"Oh, is that all?" Chakotay rolled his eyes in amusement. "Besides, as long as you don't tell B'Elanna you went swimming without her, you won't have to woo her back with promises of joyrides and non-alcoholic champagne."

"You think she won't know? That woman can sniff out if I ate a banana pancake a week ago. Klingon pregnancies, man- it turns them into superwomen! Their sense of smell skyrockets, their hearing is more acute, they can leap from tall buildings-"

"Oh come on, Tom." Harry chuckled. "You've only got another couple of weeks left." He clapped his best friend on the back. "You can make it."

"He's got a whole eighteen years left." commented Chakotay. He consulted the tricorder again, checking their heading. "Looks like we are just about thirty meters from where I think that game trail should come up to. Anyway, we are still a good hour's walk from the next big deuterium deposits, then it's an hour back, and however long it takes us to follow that trail." He tightened the strap of his canister and put the tricorder back in its pocket on his belt.

"It's hot as a warp core out here." said Harry, pausing long enough to shed his uniform jacket and tie it around his waist. "I think I'm already dried off, too. That didn't last long in this heat, did it."

"Nope." concurred Tom, grabbing an especially big leaf off of a low-hanging branch and using it to fan himself.

"It's past noon; the heat should start slacking off soo-Oh my god! _¿Qué demonios es-?!_ " Chakotay pinched his nose, looking down at the ground for the cause of the putrid smell that had just assaulted his nose. The stench brought to mind gangrenous battle wounds and curdled blood along with all the bad memories associated with it from his early Maquis days on the ground- of trying to patch up already rotting phaser wounds with no trained field medic- of crawling over half-rotten bodies of fallen comrades, praying not be seen by the Cardassians flying over them before they could get back to their ship. He couldn't control his gag reflex.

"What _is_ that?" Harry groaned beside him, leaning over to put his weight against the nearest tree as he coughed. If he hadn't been sweating before, he was now, as the rancid stench and resulting nausea left him feeling feverish and a little weak.

"Something dead? That's gotta be something dea-" Tom heaved, leaning forward and letting his breakfast meet the ground before him. Harry's joined it, splashing down the side of the tree he stood against.

"We gotta get away from whatever the hell that is." Chakotay half-groaned, pulling his shirt up over his nose in an attempt to block the foul air. He pulled the tricorder back out, flipping it open as he started forward, heading south towards where the trail should be. The other two men followed him, trying to keep their composure as they hurried through the thick woods and the thicker air around them.

As he had predicted, the trail was close to thirty meters where he'd thought it had been, and the three men went from a hard march to a swift jog down the cleared pathway. Twenty meters down, the smell was gone, and the three paused to catch their breath and recover.

"I've never smelled anything so rank!" Tom complained, taking a swig from his canteen to rinse out his mouth before cooling his burning throat with a few deep swallows. "Vidiians smell better than that!"

"Something big must be dead up there." said Harry, following Tom's example. "Maybe one of those dinophant creatures?"

"Maybe fifteen of them." said Chakotay, wiping the clammy sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm. "I don't think we're going to be getting any samples from up there anytime soon. We will have to redouble out efforts at the first outcrop Seven and I found." He glanced at the two sick men beside him. "Unless you want to try again?"

"Hell no." both chorused.

"Let's head back then. At least we found the trail I was talking about." he said, pausing long enough to spit the bad taste from the back of his throat before turning to head down the trail.

Not ten minutes had passed before a heavy breeze blew from behind them, carrying with it an oppressive wave of fetid air just as pungent as it had been before. Time and distance were no matter. All three men were hunched over gagging in seconds, feeding the ground with whatever was left in their bellies, before they regained enough composure to continue running down the trail.

"Where the hell is that coming from?" Tom groaned, trying to hold his nose as he jogged along with Chakotay and Harry.

"Behind us!" Harry answered, pausing long enough to look back. Nothing was there, but the leaves on all the trees began to move with another breeze. "Oh God, the wind is blowing again!" He took off jogging again, leaving Tom and Chakotay behind him as he attempted to outrun another bout of sick.

"Wait up, Buster!" Tom shouted, putting on another burst of speed.

"I'm court-martialling you both!" Chakotay yelled after them, running as fast as he could, bringing up the rear.

"Yeah, I'll see you-" Tom huffed as he ran, "-in court in seventy years!"

 **XXX**

"Just try it, Seven!" B'Elanna hissed from beneath the decking.

"I am!" Seven hissed right back, making sure that the metal tips of her left hand clicked loud enough across the unresponsive console that the half-Klingon could hear them. "It didn't work!"

"Damnit!" B'Elanna wriggled her way out from beneath the floor, angrily swiping her hair out of her face. "Well, I'm out of ideas!" she growled, throwing her hands up. "If you have some magic Borg insight, now would be the time to speak up!"

"The fact that the Borg are not 'magic' aside, no, B'Elanna, I have no extra insight." Seven grumbled, looking down into the now-unoccupied decking. She turned around, laid back, and shimmied down into the the hole. Inside, she pulled her arms up in front of her, checking over the wires B'Elanna had woven together to bypass the fused relay. From one end to the other, there were no faults in B'Elanna's patch job. The problem must lie with the damaged gel packs. With a heavy sigh, she slipped back out of the hole. "There were no-" she cut herself off when B'Elanna was no longer sitting on the floor beside her. "B'Elanna?"

A bang and a sniffle in the aft was the only answer. The ex-Borg climbed to her feet and hopped the three steps down into the aft. B'Elanna was sitting on the long bench, wiping her wet cheeks with her hands in frustration. "Damnit, I hate this." she muttered, trying to laugh at herself. "I go from one extreme to the next- only twice as bad!"

"Let's take another break." suggested the blonde, watching the half-Klingon warily.

"Break from what, Seven? There's not a thing we haven't tried to do to fix this hunk of targ shit, and not a damn thing has worked!" B'Elanna half-yelled. "We are now-until-Voyager-comes-back-for-us on break!"

"Then there's no reason to continue to fret over it." said Seven, her voice even.

"Damnit, I'm twenty-seven weeks pregnant- all I can goddamn do is fret!"

Holding in a sigh, Seven crossed the room to their canteens, retrieving them and holding B'Elanna's out to her. The pregnant Klingon took the offering, opening it up and taking a deep swallow as Seven followed suit, claiming the seat beside her. Seven looked at B'Elanna's face out of the corner of her eye. "All I have to say is don't you dare go into labor until we are safely back on Voyager."

B'Elanna snorted, nearly choking on her mouthful of water. "I still have two weeks left. This is my last away mission for a long time." She capped her now empty canteen, leaning back against the cool metal. "Was supposed to be an easy last mission- fly down here, grab some samples, have some fun 'camping' with our group before the baby comes..."

"Yes." nodded Seven, "We should have flown the shuttle ourselves." She smirked when B'Elanna barked a laugh, her distress subsiding. "This makes how many shuttle crashes..?"

"For Tom or for Chakotay? I lost count a long time ago." B'Elanna smirked, stretching out her legs in front of her. Her canteen slid down until it dropped onto the seat next to her, and she rested her hands on her rounded belly. "Should have known something would go wrong here with both of them on board."

"Noted for next time." Seven leaned back, mimicking the pregnant half-Klingon's posture. As she rested her head on the wall behind her, a lock of cornsilk hair fell across the bridge of her nose, tickling it. She tucked it back away from her face with an annoyed sweep of her hand.

"Lose your hair pins?" asked B'Elanna, hiding a yawn behind her hand.

"My clip was irreparably damaged yesterday while Chakotay and I were scanning the water in the creek." Another lock fell across her face before being tucked away again. "I only owned one."

"Suppose you could tie it back with a piece of wire. Not like we can use it for any of the damn relays." B'Elanna sat forward, pulling her own hair up off the nape of her neck. She yawned again, stretching her arms up over her head.

"Unfortunately."

A breeze began to blow outside, stirring the air in the aft, and nearly pulling a pleased moan from the lips of both women. It blew in from the north, blowing hard enough to pull leaves off the trees around their crash site, and swirl them as though they were dancing through the air. The extra canister lids-turned-plates, cleaned from breakfast and rested upright against the rocks surrounding the firepit, clinked together like wind chimes. The stack of sleep mats against the far wall shuffled like playing cards. The ambient temperature felt as though it had dropped several degrees.

"I hope that signals the temp dropping." said B'Elanna, watching Seven push her now-windblown hair back out of her face. She chuckled, reaching out and giving the blonde's arm a tug. "Come here." she said, gesturing to the floor in front of her feet. "Sit here."

"B'Elanna?" Seven raised a curious eyebrow.

"Just come here, Seven." B'Elanna rolled her eyes, pulling harder on the ex- drone's arm until she followed her instructions. Once she was settled cross-legged on the floor, B'Elanna ran her fingers down the back of Seven's head, straightening her hair and pulling free the tangles. "You're not tenderheaded are you?" she asked.

"What does that mea- Ouch!" Seven winced, jerking her head away when B'Elanna found a bigger tangle.

"Hold still." B'Elanna rolled her eyes, gently pulling the hair back away from Seven's face, and weaving it back towards the crown of her blonde head.

"What are you doing?" Seven winced again as B'Elanna tightened the weave.

"You a favor." The weave continued down the back of Seven's head, and then down to her shoulderblades. B'Elanna held the end of the finished braid in one hand, and with the other pointed to a length of wire hanging from the access door to the aft power matrix. "Give me that piece of wire." When Seven reached out and jerked it free, B'Elanna used it to tie off the long french braid. "There." she said, releasing Seven's hair. "You're welcome."

Seven reached up and ran her hand down the braid. "..Thank you."

B'Elanna hid another yawn, standing up and walking to lean against the stack of bedding. "It's gonna be hours before the boys get back, we can't fix a thing in this damn ship, and we were up a third of the night dealing with getting rocks thrown at us. Looks like there's nothing to do."

 **XXX**

"I can't run anymore!" Tom huffed, dropping his jog to lean over and catch his breath, gulping air in deep lungfuls. Harry stopped beside him, his breathing just as ragged. Chakotay trotted up last, leaning back against the smooth bark of a tree and lifting his shirt up to wipe the sweat from his eyes. "About how far do you think we are from the girls?"

Chakotay scrolled his eyes around them, looking for anything familiar to gauge his answer on. "Eh, I'm not sure. Seven and I ran the length of this yesterday to get back before dark, and follow you two goons down that way." He pointed in the direction they were facing. "I don't remember what the woods looked like around us- it was dark and we were going too fast."

"You managed.." Tom coughed. "To be fast?" He chuckled hoarsely, dodging Chakotay's playful clap. "Just kidding!"

"One day, you'll be there, too." Chakotay said with a smirk.

"We can't be too far. We must have knocked a good chunk of time off with that run." said Harry, recovering first. He reached out and plucked the tricorder from Chakotay's belt loop, flipping it open to scan the area around them. He frowned, slowly turning around in a circle as he read the scans. "I take that back."

Tom straightened. "What do you mean by that?"

"There must have been a fork in the trail or something." said Harry. He pointed back behind them. "That's North East. We are heading West."

"Let me see." Tom held his hand out for the tricorder, and examined its readings when Harry put it in his palm. "Crap. You're right." He met Chakotay's eyes. "We must have gotten turned around."

" _Mierda..._ " grumbled the commander. He took the tricorder back from Tom, and quickly tried to plot a course. "Well, if we head this way and try not to deviate too far from this line-" He showed the two men the path the tricorder made for them to follow. "-we should be back well before dark at least. Hopefully the wind doesn't blow anymore."

"I hope so, too." added Harry, tightening the strap on the heavy canister over his shoulders.

Tom nodded. "Let's move out."

The brambles and briars weren't quite as thick where they were, the woods having turned more forest than jungle several meters back, so the going wasn't as difficult as the coming had been. Chakotay and Tom walked side by side, with Harry leading them along holding the tricorder in his hands. Without a breeze blowing through the trees, a heavy silence hung over the area, broken only by the thudding footsteps of the men and the quiet lapping of water in the canisters Tom and Harry carried on their backs. As Chakotay had observed the day before, there were no flying creatures in the sky, no small animals scurrying through the thinning underbrush, and no sign of their ever having been besides the eggs Tom had found yesterday.

"Tom, please stop humming." Harry grumbled ahead of them. "We're probably an hour out, and I can't take it all the way back."

Tom and Chakotay turned and met eyes in confusion. "Uh, I'm not humming, Buster." said Tom. "What are you talking about?"

Harry stopped, turning back to the two men behind him. "What?"

"Uh, I'm not humming." said Tom, crossing his arms and raising one eyebrow. "Did you get too hot from all that running?"

"Quit playing." Harry scowled. "It's hot, my stomach and legs are killing me, and I don't have the patience right now to-"

"You aren't the only one hot, sick, and tired!" Tom returned the scowl. "I told you I'm not humming, and I mean I am not-"

Chakotay grabbed Tom's arm, cutting him off. "Shh!" he shushed, then whispered, "Listen."

Tom and Harry went still, straining their ears as a soft noise began to weave its way through their hearing. The sound was a muted tuneless humming, breathless and hushed as though it was far away or on the other side of a closed door. As the three men shared an incredulous stare, it came closer and became clearer, weaving around them through the trees in a wide circle. Harry dropped his eyes first, quickly typing commands into the tricorder telling it to scan for anything near them. Tom and Chakotay turned their eyes to follow the space where the humming seemed to come from.

"What in the hell?" Tom mumbled, turning bodily to continue following the sound. He lifted an eyebrow. "Is that..."

"That's a voice." Chakotay confirmed, taking one step towards the sound of the voice. The second his foot touched the ground, the sound cut off, leaving them in silence once more. "... okay then."

"You hear what I heard, right?" said Harry, holding the tricorder up for them to see its reading. "But there is absolutely nothing showing up on here. Not so much as a freaking bug. The three of us are the only life forms registering within a mile."

Chakotay pulled his foot back, turning back to Harry. The lilting whispering tune began again, closer this time, and a little louder. "Let me see that tricorder." Chakotay whispered, eyeing the trees around them. When Harry placed the device in his hand, he ran its scanner over the direction of the sound. Like Harry had said, there wasn't so much as a blip on the radar. Tom, looking over his shoulder, scowled. Again, in the quiet forest, the sound came closer, the tune almost discernible, louder. There was no mistaking it now- this was no trick of the non-existent wind through the trees.

"Why does that sound familiar?" Tom whispered, following the direction of the noise with his eyes. "Like I've heard it before?"

"What do you mean its familiar?" Harry's voice was a tense whisper.

"It's like... like its a song I've heard before." explained Tom, taking a step towards the hum. Like before, the song instantly stopped. Only, unlike last time, when Tom stepped back, the sound didn't return.

What did return, however, was the breeze, and with it came the same noxious odor as before. Empty bellies or no, all three men were instantly choking, coughing, and gagging. Harry was the first to start sprinting, followed by Chakotay and then Tom, as they struggled to outrun the invisible cloud while trying to not breathe at the same time.

"Veer right! Right!" Chakotay yelled, holding the tricorder up as he ran to check their course. "Tom!" Harry and Tom followed his direction, and the three continued to sprint as fast as they could towards the direction of the shuttle.

 **XXX**

 **Thank you for reading! Please review!**

 **~LM**


	8. Chapter 8

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter took me forever to finish! Thank you so much to Scifiromance for putting up with me through it! If anyone hasn't read her newest fanfic, 'Soft Focus', I suggest you head on over there when you're done with this chapter! Read and review!**

 **Obligatory Legalities: If I owned them, this would be in production right now. Promise.**

 **~LM**

 **XXX**

Day 3.5

 **XXX**

"There's the crater!" Tom practically yipped, putting on one last burst of speed, pushing past Harry and up the jagged pile of devastation surrounding the shuttle. Harry was at his heels, up and over just as quickly.

Chakotay stopped a few paces behind, turning to look back into the woods over his shoulder. It was still several hours until dark, but the trees in the distance were close enough together to look imposing. Neither the smell nor the sound had returned once they had began following the tricorder as they ran the last leg home. Perhaps it was the old indian in him trying to assert himself, or perhaps the paranoid Maquis officer, but looking through the trees gave him the definite feeling of being watched. He scowled, listening intently for any sign of life. None came, so he turned and scaled the edge of the crater.

"Coming, Chakotay?" Tom and Harry were catching their breath just inside the impression, waiting for their commander. Once he joined them, the three traipsed up to the silent Delta Flyer, setting their canisters by the hatch.

"B'Elanna?" Tom called, stepping into the aft. He paused long enough to cup a hand over his forehead. "Ugh, my head is killing me." Chakotay and Harry followed him into the aft.

There was no sign of the girls.

"Seven?" Chakotay stepped up the short stairs through the midsection to the cockpit. B'Elanna and Seven were sprawled out side-by-side on the floor, clad only in their shirts and underclothes, wet and unconscious. He was at Seven's side in a heartbeat, grabbing her damp arm to roll her away from B'Elanna and onto her back as a sliver of panic wormed up his spine. "Seven!"

Seven's eyes blinked open, her body going rigid in surprise until she noted who had taken hold of her. "Chakotay?" she asked blearily. Beside her, B'Elanna had the same jerking reaction at the intrusion, rolling over with a wince at her protesting back.

"Are you okay?" Chakotay asked, releasing Seven's arm.

"I'm fine. What's wrong?" Seven answered, stretching her bare legs out before sitting up beside him.

"Is it too much to ask for a _baQa_ nap?" B'Elanna groused, sitting up. Remembering the state of their undress, and seeing that Chakotay and Tom were in the cockpit, and Harry lingering in the midsection, scowled. " _Get out!_ " she half yelled, shooing Chakotay away from them. "I don't sit there and stare at you when you're in your underwear! Go!"

It was then that Chakotay noticed that the two women were laying on their sleep mats, their blankets balled up into pillows for their heads, and stripped down to their undershirts and underwear to cool down. "Oh, uh, sorry." he said, standing up to allow them to dress in privacy.

"What were you two doing all day?" Tom asked with a teasing smirk, letting Chakotay breeze past him and push Harry back into the aft.

"Out!" B'Elanna yelled, throwing the closest thing to her she could reach- her empty canteen- at his head. Tom ducked, the canteen hitting the wall behind him as he dodged out of the cockpit. Once the men had left, B'Elanna rubbed the sleep from her eyes before looking over to Seven. "What time is it?"

"Planet time- approximately 1535 hours." answered Seven, pulling her sweats off the console beside her sleep mat to pull on.

"We only got to sleep for an hour?" B'Elanna practically pouted, pulling her trousers on over her legs. "Damnit, I figured they would be gone until at least 1800 hours."

"I wonder why they are back so early."

"To bother us." deadpanned the half-Klingon, standing up to pull her pants up over her hips. She glanced at Seven as the ex-drone followed suite. "Come on, Snugglebunny." When Seven scowled, B'Elanna chuckled, walking past her and down the steps.

"We are hiking through the dense jungle out there and you and Seven are back here taking a nap?" Tom feigned a stern attitude as B'Elanna approached him to peck a quick greeting kiss on his lips. "I lugged a heavy canister of water down here for you, you know."

"Good. I'm thirsty." said Seven, coming down the steps into the aft. Her eyes shifted to where Harry and Chakotay sat apart on the long bench. Both had pulled off their shirts to cool down, their chests and arms flushed red with heat and exertion, but their faces pale. "What is wrong?" she asked, walking to stand in front of Chakotay. He parted his knees for her to step up to him, letting her tilt his head back and examine his dry face. "Are you damaged? You look ill."

"It was the weirdest thing." Harry said, wiping his brow with his discarded shirt. "We were walking along after swimming at the creek-"

B'Elanna cut him off. "Hold up! Swim?! You left us to roast in this damn oven all day while you three went for a SWIM!" B'Elanna crossed her arms over her chest, giving Tom one of her best Klingon deathglares. "Are you kidding me?"

The pilot was instantly placating. "B'Elanna, sweetheart, we just got wet filling the canisters with water-" He turned his own deathglare on Harry. "Thanks, Harry."

The younger man gave him a nervous smile, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah, sorry, Tom." He looked back up to Seven. "But we were walking back after the creek, and-"

"We must have gotten too close to one of those dinophants-" Tom cut Harry off.

Seven scowled, "Dinophants?" She turned Chakotay's head in her hands again, studying him closer for signs of injury.

"Well, they might have been dinophants." said Chakotay, gently disengaging his face from her hands, holding her own in his. "We couldn't get close enough to see."

"You didn't want to get close enough!" said Harry, wiping his face again. "Oh my god, it was the worst thing I have ever smelled!"

"It was horrible." commented Tom. "We had to run to get away from it, and then the damn wind kept blowing it down after us. We got turned around and had to come home the long way."

"We ran that last couple miles." said Chakotay. "Did you guys not smell anything? The wind was blowing really hard."

"Nope. We've been asleep for an hour." answered B'Elanna, turning to Seven who nodded.

"My stomach is killing me." Harry fanned himself with his shirt. Seven turned her attention on him, reaching out and feeling his dry forehead with her metal-laced hand. He froze under her touch, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "Uh, Seven?"

"Your temperature is elevated." Seven observed, pulling her hand back. She looked at Chakotay, running her metal-tipped fingers down the side of his face. "And your's."

"Now is not the time to die of heat stroke." B'Elanna said, feeling Tom's face. She gave him a gentle push to the bench. "Go sit down and rest." When he took the seat on the other side of Chakotay, she retrieved her canteen and pushed it into his hands.

"Is there ever a time to die of heat stroke?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"If there is, it isn't now." Seven, having retrieved the medical tricorder from the med kit in the lockers, ran the scanner over Chakotay's face and torso. " _Tienes fiebre_." She scanned both Harry and Tom next. "You, too."

"Uh, English, please?" Tom chuckled.

"You guys have a fever." B'Elanna supplied. "You should lay down. I'll get you a rag for your head."

"What about me, Maquis?" Harry managed to fake a pout. B'Elanna rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, I'll get you one, too." The two girls dug one of the spare pairs of sweats out of the storage beneath the lockers, and in a few moments had a handful of soft, rectangular cloths. Once wet with water from the canteens, they were applied to Harry, Chakotay, and Tom's necks. Seven laid out the sleep mats on the floor, and soon the boys were laid out to rest under several strips of wet cloth, and the two girls were busying themselves with peeling and cutting enough leftover fruit to feed them all.

"There's not going to be enough left for breakfast in the morning." observed Seven. They had pulled the canister of leftover fruit into the aft to keep an eye on their patients as well as remain in the shade. She tipped her canister over for B'Elanna to see how low it was.

B'Elanna pursed her lips. "Yeah- not enough to feed these three." She gestured vaguely to the three sprawled on the floor.

"Are you calling me a pig?" Tom asked softly, half-awake. Chakotay and Harry were already snoring softly on either side of him. He lifted one heavy eyelid to look up at his wife and adopted sibling.

"I call 'em how I see them." B'Elanna returned affectionately, reaching down and popping a piece of fruit in his mouth. "Go to sleep, piggy." He smirked, swallowing just before slipping into an exhausted sleep. She smiled as she reached down and gently ruffled his hair.

"Where did Tom find this fruit?"

"There's a whole grove of these trees about a half a mile from here." B'Elanna gestured South. "That way." She gave the ex-Borg a half smile. "Wanna go for a walk and get some more? There's still, what, four hours of sunlight left?"

"Approximately."

"We could be there and back in half that. Honestly, I just need out of the Flyer for a little bit." Her voice showed how tired she really was. "Come on."

"As you wish." said Seven. She put the little pairing knife she'd been using to cut the fruit with back into the canister with the unpeeled produce. The canister lid they were using as a plate was topped with another lid to keep the slices fresh, and then settled on the bench where it wouldn't be knocked over.

"I've got the tricorder." B'Elanna said, slipping the device into her pocket and grabbing her empty canteen. "Help me fill this up, and I'm ready." Seven grabbed the last empty container, and slung it over her shoulders. She and B'Elanna quickly refilled both canteens, and then headed out towards the direction of the grove, the half-Klingon in the lead.

 **XXX**

"If you don't quit humming, I'm gonna start singing." B'Elanna warned good-naturedly, looking over to the blonde woman walking beside her. Seven looked up from the tricorder with wide eyes, her hum cut off mid-tune. The half-Klingon chuckled.

"I apologize." said Seven, her attention sheepishly back on the tricorder. "I didn't realize I was humming."

B'Elanna smiled at her before looking back up to the trees as they walked. "I see Tom got to you as well..." At Seven's questioning glance, she smiled. "He's been playing The Beatles non-stop for the last couple of months. It's not as bad as some of the music he likes."

"Oh?" Seven's lips quirked a half smile.

"Yeah. I had to delete quite a few files off of his playlist when I had morning sickness. There's nothing like feeling like warmed over targ shit having to listen to really cheesy disco music at the same time." B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "It's not all bad. Just mostly bad."

"As I have no experience with cheesy disco music, I will just have to take your word for it."

"Always the smart thing to do." returned the half-Klingon, lifting one arm and pointing ahead of them. "Here we are. Those trees there." The forest opened up to the clearing around the grove of fruit trees ahead of them, burdened with gold and green clumps of ripe fruit hanging from their branches. B'Elanna gestured to the bushes skirting its periphery. "And those are the berries Tom and Harry picked."

"Yes, the.. what did he call them?" Seven reached out, plucking one round blue berry from the bush, rolling it between her fingers before popping it in her mouth.

"Snozberries, I think." returned B'Elanna, following Seven's example and picking a handful of berries to munch on. "I think they kind of taste like carrots, though. Without the crunch."

"What is a snozberry?" Seven asked, pulling the lid off of her canister and setting the empty container at their feet.

"I don't know." answered B'Elanna, dropping her handful of berries in the silver canister before picking another. "I guess these are snozberries." She paused her picking to toss a couple of berries in her mouth.

The ex-drone shrugged, quickly picking several handfuls of the blue berries before she was satisfied they had enough. The two women walked into the grove together, walking through the white-spotted trees until they found one with low lying branches. Seven was up the tree quick as a wink, and dropping fruit in clumps to B'Elanna below her.

"Just one more handful." B'Elanna said, gently thumping the side of the canister to settle the cargo inside it. "Be careful coming back down."

"I assure you I have no intention of falling out of this tree." returned Seven, dropping the last bit of food before carefully scaling her way back down the tree's smooth trunk. "Did you go to the other side of the grove yesterday?"

"You mean all the way through?"

"To the other end." Seven pointed behind them, opposite of the way they had hiked up. "There may be other food or water sources nearby."

B'Elanna pulled the tricorder out of her pocket, flipping it open, and watching it scan the surrounding area. "Hmm.. We didn't go to the end. I don't know if Tom did without Harry and I with him, but the three of us didn't. We just grabbed some food and went back home before it got dark."

Seven reached over her, pointing to the little screen. "It says there is water South of us. Perhaps it is also potable." She looked up, turning her eyes across the grove South. "Approximately forty-five minutes from here."

"We could check it out." said B'Elanna. She glanced up at the sky. "Do we have time though? Before it gets dark?"

"Yes, we should have plenty of time." Seven shouldered the canister of green and gold fruit and berries. "Shall we?" When her companion nodded, the two women set off across the grove at a leisurely pace.

"Hey, look at these." B'Elanna held the tricorder over the tangled blue vines wrapping themselves up around the trunks of the last few trees in the grove. Their vines were thick and fuzzy, with jagged edged leaves in shades of blue sprouting from them every few inches. Hidden beneath the leaves were a bounty of berries. "They look like blue raspberries." The half-Klingon plucked one from the vine and ran the tricorder over it. "Hmm... perfectly edible!" She handed it to Seven. "Here- you first."

Seven scowled down at the quarter-sized blue fruit in her hand. "Why me first?" She took the tricorder from B'Elanna to look over the results.

"Because if it tastes bad, you'll be the one to taste it and I won't have to gag." returned B'Elanna with a laugh. She grabbed another berry off the vine. "Here." The blue berry was popped in her mouth, and chewed thoughtfully for a few seconds before B'Elanna made a face. "Ugh- they taste like strawberries! Yuck!"

"Strawberries?" Seven quirked an eyebrow, taking a bite of her own. Her eyes widened, looking up and down the vine that had overtaken the tree. She'd never be able to pick them all, but she'd be damned if she wasn't taking a few of these sweet morsels back to camp with her. "These are good!"

"If you like strawberries." B'Elanna spit the rest of the berry out. "No thanks." The lid to Seven's canister was off and a handful of berries already being plucked from the vine to fill it. The half-Klingon laughed. "Someone likes strawberries, I see." Seven only gave a little nod, quickly filling the canister the rest of the way with the little blue orbs. "Well, after watching you drink those nutritional supplements for years, I'm not surprised."

Seven paused long enough to frown at B'Elanna. "You dislike the taste of strawberries, B'Elanna?" When B'Elanna shook her head, Seven shrugged with a smirk. "Good- I won't have to share."

B'Elanna snorted, a wide amused grin on her face. "Not with me, anyway." Canister full, she gestured ahead of them. "Wanna keep going?"

"Sure." The canister was lidded and shouldered, and the tricorder examined. "This indicates there is a water source ahead. We should check it out."

 **XXX**

"Kahless, it's like I'd forgotten what it felt like to be clean!" B'Elanna nearly moaned in pleasure, giving her face one last good scrub, cleaning away the three days of grit, sweat, and grime from baking in the hot shuttle. Seven, sitting beside her in the clear water, hummed her agreement, leaned back propped up by her arms. "Too bad we don't have any soap." Her eyes widened in realization. She splashed a little water Seven's way. "We should come back tomorrow and wash our clothes!"

"I concur." said Seven, sitting up straight and stretching the kinks out of her arms before she stood up.

The water cutting through the woods was too big to be considered a creek, but too small to be a river. The shore they had found a half hour from the fruit trees was lined with large rocks, smoothed away by time and what was likely a much river running through this valley decades ago. The trees were thin along its banks, allowing the sun to shine down through and nurture grass and wildflowers resembling a hybrid mix of Earth poppies and daisies, vibrant and white with teal green stems. The water itself was cool and clear, with a pebbled bottom like the creek to the North of them and perhaps twice or more deep.

Seven sloshed up to the pebbled beach and the long, flat rock where they had set their canister and clothes. The air was already turning cooler, and the slight wind was raising goosebumps along her arms and up her legs. "It's getting cold."

B'Elanna sighed, slowly standing up and sloshing her way to the shoreline, her hands crossed under the swell of her belly for support. "We need towels." she groused, glancing at her companion as Seven pulled her shirt over her head. "I'm making a mental list, and soap and towels are at the top of it." She pulled her own shirt and uniform bottoms from the smooth rock, setting about the task of redressing wet.

The blonde woman was dressed first, and began to squeeze the water from her hair. "How did you weave my hair earlier?"

B'Elanna had to sit on another, lower rock to pull her shoes back on. "It's just a french braid." she answered. "Give me a second and I'll redo it for you."

"We should leave within another fifteen minutes if we are to return to the shuttle before it is too dark to see."

"It won't take me that long to braid your hair." B'Elanna gestured to the space between her feet for Seven to sit. "Give me that piece of wire." Seven sat cross-legged beneath her, back ramrod straight. "I'm adding a hair brush to the list." she said, gently running her hands through the damp blonde strands before beginning the long plait. Once finished and tied off, the two women gathered up the canister, canteens, and tricorder before setting off back in the direction of the grove at a hurried pace.

 **XXX**

"Tom... Tom... Tom, wake up." Tom jerked awake, eyes opening wide with surprise as he stared up into Chakotay's amused face.

"I don't remember ordering a wake up call." Tom groaned, rubbing the back of one hand over his eyes. Chakotay sat back on his haunches, waiting for the younger man to sit up.

"The girls are gone." Chakotay said, picking up the tricorder he had placed on the bench above the man's head, and beginning another scan. "They aren't showing up on the tricorder. They must be out of range." He watched Tom sit up and stretch. "Any idea where they might have went?"

"Yeah- they were gonna go get more food for dinner." answered Tom as he hid a yawn behind the back of his hand. "Where's Harry? Did he go with them?"

"Harry's outside starting the fire. It will be dark in an hour or so. We need to start thinking about going to find B'Elanna and Seven. Looks like neither of them took a jacket, and the temperature is about to drop."

"Right." Tom grabbed his shoes from the end of his sleep mat, hastily pulling them on as the last bit of sleep drained out of him. "The grove is only about a half hour away from here. They shouldn't be too far out." He stood with the commander, and followed him out to join Harry by the growing campfire. "How long have we been asleep?"

"About three hours." answered Harry, tossing another log onto the flames. The fire cracked and popped, embers floating into the air in a dazzle of sparks as the log was quickly engulfed. Harry threw on three more arm-sized chunks of splintered wood. "That should keep it going for a while."

"Let's go rescue our damsels in distress." said Tom.

"I'm sure they aren't in distress." Chakotay smirked. "B'Elanna is probably enjoying getting away from this shuttle for a while."

"I'm sure the Flyer is enjoying her absence as well." laughed the blonde man. "It's going to take forever to get all the dents out of the walls."

"I think the dents are still the least of your worries." snickered Harry.

"Right?" agreed Chakotay. He turned towards the treeline. "Let's get a move on, then, before it gets dark."

"Sure-"

* _"... picture... on a boat... on a river..."_ *

All three men came to an abrupt halt, turning to one another and sharing the same confused expression. Harry was the first to speak seconds later. "What was that?"

* _"... trees and ... -malade skies..."_ *

"You hear that?" Tom half-whispered, straining to hear.

* _"... on... boat... river..."_ *

"Is that singing?" Harry scrunched his nose.

"That's Seven." Chakotay grinned until he looked back down at his tricroder. There still was no lifesigns showing. "Hmm.. Still not showing up, though." He looked back up at the woods. "They must already be on the way back."

"Speak of the devil." agreed Tom, turning back to the campfire. "Well, good- I'm getting hungry." Harry joined him, grabbing Chakotay's long walking stick and using it to poke the logs in the fire.

* _"... marmalade skies..."_ *

Chakotay walked up to the treeline before cupping his hands around his mouth. "Seven!" No answering call came from the dense woods. "B'Elanna!"

A hard breeze blew a gust of wind down the back of each man's shirt, drawing a shiver from all three. Tom rubbed his arms with his hands, turning to look at Chakotay over his shoulder. "Must be carrying on the wind."

* _"... answer... quite slowly..."_ *

"Must be." agreed the commander, squinting his eyes to see farther up into the woods. He caught a flash of movement several dozen meters in- a flash of dark black legs disappearing behind a tall, thick tree surrounded by dense bushes and briars. He could hear the sound of leaves crunching as they walked. "Hey, Seven!" Still no answer. "B'Elanna?"

* _"...girl with... kaleidescope..."_ *

"Maybe they got some more of those eggs." Tom commented absently, grabbing his canteen and taking a long drag.

Harry scowled in distaste. "They tasted horrible. You want more?"

"They weren't that bad, Harry."

"They tasted like Neelix boiled them with a pound of leola root and the combined dirty socks of everyone that works on deck eleven."

"They were a little musky- I'll give you that." Tom shrugged. "But I don't hate 'em."

"Well, if they bring back a dozen, you can have mine."

Chakotay rolled his eyes as he listened to the other men, waiting for Seven and B'Elanna to come into sight. He could no longer hear Seven's voice singing, nor could he hear the crunching of leaves as they walked. Why had they stopped? The commander scowled, wondering if something were wrong, and took a step into the woods towards the tree. "Seven?"

" _Chakotay!_ " Seven's voice yelled out from the woods. Her voice was panicked and shrill- a sharp bark that immediately drew the attention of the three men. Without comment or preamble, all three were dodging into the treeline, following the sound towards the thickest cluster of trees where Chakotay had seen movement.

"Seven!" Chakotay yelled, barreling through the brush and briars, not caring that the sharp barbs dug into and shredded through his arms, sides, and legs. He rounded the thickest bushes, nearly bouncing off a tree to stop his momentum as he swung around to where he had seen the flash of black. He twisted his body around to face the empty space behind the tree as Tom and Harry caught up to him. In confusion, the three spun around, looking and listening for the girls.

"What the hell?" Harry hissed incredulously, eyes scanning the woods around them. "Where are they?"

" _Chakotay!_ " Seven's voice again came from somewhere deeper in the woods, a high-pitched frantic shriek.

"Seven!" Chakotay's shout matched the other in insistency if not in pitch. "Where are you?"

Beside him, Tom cupped his hands over his mouth. "B'Elanna!"

Behind them, from the direction of the shuttle, came the sound of sprinting through the woods. When the three men whipped around to look, Seven was lithely making her way to them, dodging the biggest bushes and briars. Chakotay ran towards her, meeting her half way, the others behind him. The ex-Borg nearly launched herself at him, unable to jump over the last brush and slow down at the same time. Chakotay caught her, quickly holding her at arm's length to check her for injuries.

Seven ran her own eyes over his form as well. "Are you damaged?" She barely spared a glance at either Harry or Tom, shaking one of her arms free of Chakotay's grasp to run her hand over his brow. "Your fever is gone."

"Where's B'Elanna?" Tom asked, his voice urgent.

The blonde finally turned her eyes to meet Tom's. "She's at the shuttle." she answered. "We just walked back into the crater and heard you guys out here yelling." She looked back into Chakotay's eyes. "Why were you yelling? What happened?"

" _Querida_ , I heard you out here screaming!" Chakotay's voice was insistent, and still a hair's breadth away from wild. "I thought something had happened to you or B'Elanna." He barely spared a glance at Tom or Harry as they quickly headed back to the shuttle to check on B'Elanna. "Scared the hell out of me."

"We are undamaged." returned Seven, letting him yank her against his chest in relief. "B'Elanna and I gathered food. We also found fresh water." She scowled, her head tucked against his neck. "What do you mean you heard me screaming? I haven't screamed."

He again pulled her to arm's length to look at her. "What?"

Her scowl deepened. "I haven't screamed. B'Elanna has not screamed, either." she answered.

"I don't know, Seven- it was your voice, and it screamed my name." Chakotay racked his brain- he had definitely heard Seven out here, right? "First you were singing, and we could just barely hear it, then you started screaming bloody murder."

"Something very strange is going on here." said Seven, her eyes turning to scan the woods around them. "You and I saw Harry, and Harry swears up and down that he never left camp. Then I saw Harry and Tom, and both swore they had never left camp to look for us. The ice or rocks or whatever it was from last night aside, now here you are saying you heard me out here screaming when I most certainly was not."

Chakotay nodded, his face drawing down into a frown of concentration. "Something is not right." he agreed quietly.

"Chakotay!" Tom's voice yelled from the direction of the shuttle. "Seven! Come on!"

"Just a minute!" Chakotay called back, letting go of Seven's arms to take her hand. "Let's get back to the shuttle. I don't like the idea of being in these woods past dark."

"Nor do I." agreed Seven, turning with him to walk back to the makeshift camp and their crewmates waiting.

B'Elanna was already wrist deep in a canister of fruit, peeling and cutting it to drop onto the lid beside her as she spoke. "And there's a really nice little river we came across about thirty minutes from the other side of the grove. The tricorder said the water was clear enough that we could drink it."

"I like that better than the two hours uphill to that creek." said Tom, snagging a piece of fruit from the plate and biting it in half. "Surely we have enough samples from where we can get to, that we can just wait out the rest of this week for the Captain to come back for us." He held the other half out to B'Elanna's lips, returning her smile as she took it. "We can grab samples with another shuttle when Voyager comes back."

Chakotay and Seven took a seat on the other side of B'Elanna, Chakotay throwing his arm around her shoulder when they settled. Tom looked over at them with a grin. "So, I hear I have been a positive influence on you."

"Tom, you're not a positive influence on anyone." Harry dead-panned, rolling his eyes with a playful smirk.

"What do you mean?" asked Seven, taking the lid of fruit B'Elanna offered her with a small smile, popping a blue strawberry into her mouth.

"Lanna here tells me you've been humming all afternoon." said Tom, handing another full canister lid to Harry and then Chakotay. "The Beatles are iconic. I'm glad that I was able to guide you in a better direction than the Doctor with his twenty thousand renditions of _'Oh My Darling, Clementine'_..."

Seven swallowed her second berry. "I do not share his penchant for folk tunes- try as he does to sway me."

"How do you feel about Meatloaf?" Tom asked, popping another piece of fruit in his mouth.

The blonde scowled. "I suppose as long as it is vegetarian but does not contain any leola root-"

Tom chuckled. "No, no, I mean the guy. Like Paradise By The Dashboard Light? I Would Do Anything For Love?" He sang a few bars: " _I would do anything for love- but I won't do that..._ Ring a bell?"

Seven shook her head. "I don't think that artist was in any of the holodeck programs that you and Harry showed me."

"Count yourself blessed." Commented B'Elanna. "Tom, your taste in music is nothing if not strange."

"Ecclectic, _Be'nal_. The word is ecclectic."

"No, it is strange, _LoDnal_."

Chakotay snorted. "Your taste in music was the only thing I liked about you in the Maquis."

Tom feigned hurt. "That was not very nice, Commander."

"You'll survive." laughed the older man.

"No, I've been shot through the heart. And you're to blame."

*" _Darling, you give love a bad name._ "* Seven finished with a quirk of her lips.

Tom looked almost proud. B'Elanna rolled her eyes. Harry laughed, thoroughly amused, as he quickly finished off the last of his plate.

"You always wanted to listen to that disco crap." Chakotay said to Tom, "I'd wake up at 0300 hours to ABBA reverberating through the Val Jean's hull. Practically vibrate me out of my bed!" He rolled his eyes.

"What were you humming today, anyway?" Tom asked, consciously ignoring Chakotay in favor of the blonde at his side. "Anything good? I mean, if it's something you learned from one of my holodeck programs it of course must be good."

Seven rolled her eyes. * _"Hey Jude, don't make it bad.. Take a sad song, and make it better.."_ *

"Oh that's a good one." commented Harry, handing his empty plate back for B'Elanna to refill.

The ex-drone stood up and walked to the canisters beside the half-Klingon, reaching in and grabbing a handful of the blue strawberry-flavored berries on the top. B'Elanna, watching her, snickered. Seven only smirked, reaching out and plucking the three B'Elanna had placed on Harry's plate, and dropping them onto her own. She had just settled down beside Chakotay again, when a fierce wind blew down from the North. The treetops and brush bent with its power, and the fire swirled high with the sudden influx of oxygen.

B'Elanna was the first to gag. "Kahless, what is that smell?!"

Chaos hit. The same stagnant, putrid stench the men had encountered earlier leeched its way through the campsite, burning the eyes and nose of all around the fire with its potency. Tom and Harry immediately dropped their lids, pulling their shirts up to cover their noses in a failed attempt to not smell it. Chakotay dropped his plate on the log beside him, turning to Seven and lifting her up in his effort to push her to stand. The blonde woman flailed in surprise as her center of gravity was shifted, sending her plate high overhead and into the woods, leaving a trail of fruit like breadcrumbs behind her. Chakotay pushed her again, gesturing for her to move towards the shuttle. B'Elanna lost her dinner beside the fire as Harry ran past her, lofting himself over the firepit instead of going around it, following Chakotay and Seven inside. Tom barely let B'Elanna finish before he started to pull her with him, his hands on either side of her ribs from behind to support his induced speed.

"Get inside!" Chakotay yelled out at them, pulling up the slack on the hatch's manual crank. Harry skidded inside, barely keeping his balance as he spun around quickly to help Seven and Chakotay on the other side of the door. Once Tom and B'Elanna were inside, they quickly raised up the hatch.

Safe inside, they began to recover- the smell not having settled in the shuttle and unable to permeate the walls. B'Elanna couldn't help but gag again, grabbing onto the bulkhead by the small medical table to support her weight. Tom came up behind her, rubbing soothing circles on her back as he coughed along with her.

Harry flopped onto the long bench, breathing heavily. "D-did'ja see?" He managed a smile and a laugh through the disgust. "I jumped over the fire!"

"Yeah, you're lucky you didn't catch your ass on fire." Chakotay dead-panned, using the tail of his shirt to wipe his forehead. Seven stood beside him, steadying herself with her hand on his arm. "Are you okay, _Querida_?" The ex-drone was several shades whiter than she had been, but she nodded.

"That was _baQa_ awful!" B'Elanna ground out, slowly regaining her composure. "What the hell was that?"

"That," Tom mumbled, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "Was the smell that chased us out of the woods today."

"Kahless, no wonder you three were sick."

"That's got to be the worst thing I've ever smelled- and I've been in a Viidian prison." said Tom.

Harry nodded. "It's horrible.. It's like if you took a body builder- a big, hairy bodybuilder- and you had him run on a treadmill for- I don't know- two hours. Then, you wrung out his sweaty jock strap and spritzed the resulting liquid onto a greasy, congealed bowl of Chell's Red Alert chili."

"Harry, oh my God!" Chakotay gaped at the younger man, his stomach turning again after finally having settled.

"What the hell, Harry?" Tom hissed.

The younger man laughed again at their responses. "No, no, no- It's more like if you took a Viidian's crusty old socks, and then you boiled them up in rotten chicken broth- oh, with a big bowl of that blood pudding! Then you served it out of a dirty urinal."

"Shut the hell up, Starfleet!" B'Elanna glared at him, leaning back against the bulkhead. "That's not funny."

Harry only laughed harder. "I- I beg to d-differ!"

Tom crossed his arms, looking over at Seven and Chakotay in the dying light filtering in from the cockpit windows. "Watch out, Harry, if you don't quit, we're going to have to start calling Seven 'Shamrock'- look how green she is."

The ex-drone did look a little green, her stomach flopping and churning- her composure held only by force of will and Chakotay's grounding hand on the small of her back. She managed a scowl at the couple by the bulkhead.

"I don't know." said B'Elanna. "Now she's going kind of red. Maybe Scarlett?"

"Cease this conversation- all three of you!" Seven hissed, her voice quiet but audible, unable to be louder without risking emptying her stomach onto the carpet below.

"Alright, cut it out." Chakotay broke in, leading Seven to sit on the bench. "Where's the lantern? It's getting dark." He rubbed his hands together. "And cold."

"Uh..." Tom uncrossed his arms. "Well, they're outside."

"What? Why?" B'Elanna asked, turning to view her husband with a scowl. "I'm not going after them!"

"They've got solar charging ports. I put them outside to charge up." was the defensive answer. "No one thought we would be chased inside by that cloud of gross!"

"Just grab one of the wristlights." offered Harry, sobering.

"We shouldn't run their batteries down- there's no way for us to recharge them should we need them in an emergency." Seven quietly reminded them, rubbing the bridge of her nose hoping to stem the slight ache she could feel behind it.

"Well that's just great." groused the half Klingon. "Alright, who's going to go get a lantern?" She glanced around the cabin. "And the water?"

"Not it." Harry immediately said, eyes wide at the prospect of venturing out into the choking cloud outside.

"Not it." mirrored Tom, looking towards Chakotay.

The indian may be old, but he wasn't stupid. "Oh, hell no! I'm not going out there. I feel sick enough as it is."

"Damnit." Tom turned his attention to Seven. "Can't you just declare scent irrelevant and go?"

The ex-drone leveled a green glare his way. " **No**."

The blonde man was instantly placating. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

"I bet the four of us could pick him up easy." Harry said conspiratorially, looking from Seven to B'Elanna and Chakotay. "We could throw him outside and not let him back in until he gets a lantern."

"Now just wait a damn minute!" Tom hissed, taking a step away from his wife and her suddenly predatory look. "Harry, just who the hell's side are you on?"

"Mine." returned the younger man, smirking at his best friend.

"If you open the hatch, you will allow contaminated air to enter the shuttle." Seven reasoned, finally shoving her nausea away. "You would be punishing yourself as much as you would be Tom. The lanterns are irrelevant- we do not need to see to sit here until we go to sleep for the night."

"I'm starting to feel five years old again with this enforced bedtime every night." complained Harry. "But what else is there to do with no power?"

"We could always pull the boombox out and listen to it. I have it programmed with old talk shows as well as music." suggested Tom.

"Wait..." B'Elanna scowled, looking at her husband. "You really still have a working boombox in this shuttle?"

"Yeah... The one we always listen to-"

"You have a working boombox on this shuttle with a working gel pack power supply?"

"Perhaps we should converse about the yellow hippo in the room?" mumbled Seven, interrupting the half-Klingon's train of thought.

"I may be two weeks to pop, but I'm not that big, Seven." B'Elanna teased, moving to take a seat beside the blonde.

"It's pink elephant." Tom gently corrected with a smile, toeing the three sleep mats on the floor into position and taking a seat on one.

"Whatever colored animal." the ex-drone swept her hand around the room in frustration, bringing it back to the bridge of her nose again.

"Yeah." Chakotay crossed his arms, watching Seven with a touch of concern. "Can we all agree that we are not alone here?"

"I'm beginning to come to that same conclusion." Harry said seriously, sitting forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "I've thought off and on about those rocks, and I just can't explain it away."

"And those voices today." Tom added. "I heard Seven singing, and then her scream."

"Neither of which I did." said Seven, settling her hands in her lap. "Yesterday, Chakotay and I saw and heard Harry and then Harry and Tom in the woods." She looked around to meet the eyes of Tom, Harry, and B'Elanna. "I have an eidetic memory. Though they were fleeting glances, I can discern little difference between what I saw in the woods, and what I have seen out."

"But there is a difference?" B'Elanna asked.

"I never saw the faces, and the bodies seemed..." Seven frowned, trying to think of an apt description. "...spectral. Unnatural. Almost ghostly."

"Like you were seeing ghosts?" It was B'Elanna's turn to frown.

"Ghosts are irrelevant."

"The voices were spot on, though." continued Chakotay. "I know you tried to pass it off as hyperthermia or some kind of hallucination, Tom, but I don't think that's what happened at all. Or did we three hallucinate together hearing Seven's voice in the woods?"

"I heard it." mumbled Harry. Tom nodded agreement.

"We have continually scanned with tricorders, though." said B'Elanna. "And nothing shows up except those dumb dinophants." She grimaced. "It may be a new form of life we are unfamiliar with."

"If we could ever get tactical up and running, we could try scanning with the shuttle." said Harry. "Those scanners are more powerful."

"What do you think Seven and I have been doing all damn day?" hissed the engineer.

"Besides napping?" Chakotay teased, ignoring her glare his way. "All we can do is continue to try to fix what we can-"

"It's a lost cause." B'Elanna cut in.

Chakotay continued, ignoring it, "-And survive until then. We have food, we have water, we have shelter. Voyager should be back in.." He looked at Seven.

"Seven days." she supplied soberly. "If they are not held up."

"Well, then I suggest we follow Tom's advice- just this one time- and try to pretend we are on a camping trip." Chakotay smirked, reaching out and patting B'Elanna's belly. "It's a last hurrah before the baby comes."

B'Elanna sighed. "Hurrah." she dead-panned.

"So what do we do about the creatures in the woods? Why would they be mimicking us?" asked Harry.

"I'm not sure." said the commander. "But we should stay away from them either way."

"Perhaps we shouldn't separate." offered Seven.

"Speaking of separate... Here, help me move the beds back." Tom said to Harry, lifting his camp mattress up off the floor to scoot back to its place beside Harry's and the hatch. "My stomach is killing me now."

"Mine, too." Harry agreed, flopping down on the third bed. "Leave them as they are. There's more room this way, anyway."

"Here we are saying we shouldn't separate and you want the girls to sleep alone in the cockpit?" Tom asked, letting the mattress slip back beside the other two.

"I doubt I'm going to be able to sleep for a while with my stomach tense like this." Chakotay said with a sigh. "You guys stay back here, and I'll stay in the cockpit so I don't keep you up. Hopefully that smell is gone by the morning."

"Hopefully." B'Elanna agreed, still leaning against the bulkhead. "It would be a long week stuck in here."

"We wouldn't last a week." said Tom. "The water canisters are outside with the food and lanterns."

"Let us not talk about food." muttered Seven, her hands moving up to clench beneath her jaw as she focused on not feeling sick again.

Chakotay nodded, turning and stepping up into the mid section. "Get some rest while you can."

B'Elanna watched him walk up into the cockpit, then looked down at Harry and Tom who were already trying to arrange the blankets so the two of them and herself would be warmest. Her attention was drawn back to her surrogate brother as she moved to claim the space between Harry and Tom. His stomach may be hurting him as bad as the rest of them, but that wasn't all that had him tense. Anyone that knew him well enough could see it was worry that would keep him up all night. It hadn't only been Tom's loud music that had Chakotay frequenting the hallways of the Val Jean when he should have been resting. The half-Klingon sighed. ' _Some things will never change._ '

Movement on the bench caught her eye. ' _Speaking of things that will never change..._ ' Seven was still perched near the bulkhead separating the aft and midsection, her hands clawed together beneath her chin. Her typical Borg mask had momentarily slipped, and B'Elanna could easily read the worry and indecision swirling in the dark blue eyes as the blonde watched Chakotay. After a few seconds, she put her feet down, but had yet to spring up to follow him.

' _Nope. Never changes._ ' B'Elanna reached up, pretending to stretch, and rapped her knuckle on the bottom of the bench. When Seven whipped her head around to glance her way, B'Elanna raised on eyebrow at her before turning a leading eye towards the cockpit. Seven was still flushed, but B'Elanna swore the red deepened before the ex-drone finally hopped up and slipped through the doorway. With a roll of her eyes, B'Elanna turned into Tom's back, snuggling down for warmth. ' _You owe me one, Chakotay._ '

Chakotay had taken Tom's seat in the cockpit, watching the sky turn black through the windows. Seven silently walked up behind him, putting her hands on the back of the chair. He startled with a sharp intake of air.

"Sorry." she said softly.

" _No es nada._ " he murmured, reaching back to take hold of her arm, pulling her down into his lap on the chair. She didn't protest beyond a slight gasp. Instead, she curled into him, her head on his shoulder and her legs hanging off to the side of his thigh. "Interesting mission, no?"

"Too interesting." she returned, bringing her arms up to loosely circle his shoulders.

His own hands settled around her waist as he turned his head towards her's to kiss her cheek. "I suppose it could be worse." he murmured. "At least we have food and water nearby."

"Chakotay," Her voice held only a hint of a whine. "Please... Let's not talk about the water we can't get to or the food I cannot eat now anyway..."

"Sorry, _Querida_." He moved his hands to rub soothing circles on her back. "We don't have to talk about it." He leaned his head over onto her's, watching the stars show up outside. "Any chameleon species in that head of your's?"

"Elaborate."

"Has the Borg ever encountered anything that behaves the way that, well, I'm assuming it is a creature, does? The mimicking? The throwing rocks?"

Seven shook her head, arching her back when he ran his hand over a particularly sensitive spot. "Not during my time in the collective, no." she answered softly. "I have just as much idea as you do about what is going on with this planet and its inhabitants."

He almost chuckled. "Yeah... I tried to work it out in my head, and I just keep thinking back about all these old Native American legends my father used to tell me when I was a kid."

Her voice was barely a whisper now. "Oh?"

"Yeah. He had a story for everything: why the wind blows, why the water is wet, why the grass is green and the sky is blue-"

"..sky is blue because of... light refracting-"

He smirked with a nod. "Yes, I know, but tell that to an old indian." He continued to run his hand up and down her back. "There were scary stories he used to tell us, too, sometimes. Monsters that lived in the woods and ate little boys and girls, and creatures that could change into birds or wolves... I think I believed it when I was small, but.." Seven let out a sigh, her breath raising goosebumps across his throat. When he glanced down at her, she was fast asleep. Another smirk crossed his lips. "Am I that boring to listen to?"

His words seemed to jostle her, and her eyes fluttered open. "No, Chakotay- I'm sorry." she whispered. "I just feel so nauseous.." Her eyes slid shut again. "And I'm just so tired.. Sorry.."

His expression turned a little concerned as he watched her doze off. Even though he himself had felt quite ill after being exposed to whatever died to make that smell, he hadn't thought Seven would have been quite so affected. Perhaps it was just her human side reasserting itself over the Borg enhancements. With tender care, he cradled her to his chest, looping his arm down under her knees, and stood up from the chair. She hardly reacted beyond tightening her hands against his shirt as he carried her to the two camp mattresses the girls had napped on earlier and laid her down. When he had her settled, he covered her with the two silver emergency blankets before turning back to the helm. A hand on his ankle stopped him from moving.

"Chakotay." He looked down at Seven, still half asleep, but lucid enough to look imploringly up at him with shining blue eyes. "Lay with me?"

Chakotay smiled down at her, turning back and settling onto the mattress behind her. The metal bulkhead was cool behind his back, but the blonde ex-drone warmed his front as she turned her body into his. He threw his arm over her, trailing his fingers down her spine before cupping her backside to pull her body flush to his. Seven settled her arms curled between them as he redistributed the blankets to cover them both. " _Buenes noches, mi amor_." he whispered, pecking a kiss on her full lips.

She smiled. " _Godnatt, Älskling._ "

 **XXX**

 **Good? Bad? Tell me in a review!  
**

 **~LM**


	9. Chapter 9

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Welcome to chapter 9! Thank you, all who are still with me! Thank you so much for reading! Huge Huge Huge thanks to Scifiromance for the proofreading and for letting me bounce ideas around! I don't know if I would have made it this far this fast and this good without you, chika! :)**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own them. Not making any money off of them. Don't have any of them tied up down in my basement... though only because I don't _HAVE_ a basement...**

 **~LM**

 **XXX**

Tom craned his neck to see around the doorway from the midsection to the cockpit. He and B'Elanna had been awake for about a half hour or so, and Harry had awoken soon after. They had decided as a group that it wouldn't be a good idea to open the hatch without at least warning Chakotay and Seven of their intentions, but the usually bright and early Chakotay had yet to appear. "Chakotay? Seven? You up?"

"Hurry up, Tom!" B'Elanna grumbled. "Your child is headbutting my bladder!"

The blonde man turned back to give his pregnant wife a loving smile. "I'm hurrying, sweetcakes. Cross your legs." He expertly dodged the balled up blanket hurled his way before stepping up into the cockpit.

Chakotay and Seven were still sound asleep, wrapped so tightly together under the blankets that you could hardly tell where one ended and the other began. Chakotay had his back to the bulkhead, his face a serene mask as he held Seven curled up against him. The blonde ex-drone was cuddled against his chest with her head tucked under the dark stubble growing beneath Chakotay's chin, her fine hair slipping from the braid to sway in the breeze created by his breath. The blanket had slipped down to their waists, revealing the commander's arm hidden under the back of Seven's shirt, his hand splayed out over her shoulder blades.

Tom smirked, pleasantly amused, reaching up to scratch the itchy blonde stubble on his own chin. At least his grew in right. ' _Poor Harry._ ' he thought with a snicker, reaching over Seven to poke Chakotay's shoulder. "Up and at 'em, soldier."

The older man's brown eyes squinted open, sleepily flicking from Tom to scroll around the cockpit in his peripheral vision as he stretched his legs out. "Hey." he grunted quietly. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." answered Tom, standing back up. "We just didn't want to open the hatch without you. B'Elanna needs to go to the bathroom." He glanced back towards the cabin with a gentle smile, listening to B'Elanna's audible grumbling as she paced and Harry's placating murmurs trying to settle her.

"Okay, we'll get up." Chakotay say behind a yawn, turning his head down to the blonde sleeping against his chest. " _Despierta, cariño_." As Tom turned back into the cabin to give them some privacy, Chakotay ran a thumb over the sensitive starburst beside Seven's ear, drawing a little gasp from her lips before she blearily blinked open her eyes. "Hello, _Querida_."

Seven stretched her legs out, bringing one hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose as her slight headache from yesterday returned. She played it off as rubbing the sleep from her eyes before smiling back at him. "Hello."

"Time to get up, sleepyhead." he said softly, leaning down and placing a sound kiss on her lips, before moving back just enough to whisper. "Or is it Snugglebunny?"

Seven snorted, leaning up to kiss him again.

A hyperspanner sailed through the air to crash into the dead helm console, startling the couple on the floor. B'Elanna's voice nearly echoed in the shuttle. "You've got _TWO MINUTES_ to get out of bed and outside before I come in there and drag you out! _TUGH_!" Tom and Harry both snickered, only to be cut off by a sharp, "Shut up!"

Chakotay smirked, sitting up and pulling Seven with him. "Alright, we're up, B'Elanna."

"I told her to cross her legs." Tom said loud enough to be heard, followed by something crashing into the bulkhead near him.

" _ONE MINUTE._ "

With a shared laugh of their own, the couple still in bed stood up, straightening their clothes and rolling up their bedding. For the record, they only paused twice more for Chakotay to peck a kiss on Seven's lips before they hopped down the steps from the midsection to the cabin to join the others.

"Finally." B'Elanna was the first at the hatch, turning the large locking mech on one side while Harry turned the other. "Hold your noses, people."

Seven grimaced, bringing her shirt up to cover her nose and mouth the way Harry and Tom already had theirs, showing off the pale skin of her belly, and the two lines of silver that fluidly wrapped around beneath her ribs. Chakotay drew his breath as lightly as he could, walking to the hatch as it creaked open.

What met them outside was total destruction.

Where once had been a comfortable camp site now was a twisted mess. The logs that had surrounded the fire for simple seating were splintered and knocked to the four corners. The firepit looked like it had exploded- ash and soot were spread over the ground for meters around, the stones placed around it to keep the fire in were broken and thrown. The canisters full of water had been dumped over, their contents spilling out to create a black sooty river across the ground. The canister of food was upturned and empty. One of the lanterns left outside to charge was now mangled bits of glass and metal, as utterly useless as the dented and broken tricorder left outside, and the heap of wire and parts beside the shuttle. The other lantern was nowhere to be found.

"What the hell happened?" Harry asked quietly, carefully stepping down the hatch. The others followed closely, eyes wide taking in the destruction. "How did we not... You guys didn't hear this, did you?"

"I didn't hear anything." said B'Elanna. She skirted around Harry and headed for the woods. "Tom, come with me."

"What?" he asked absently, eyes roving over the mess made of their campsite.

"I said come with me- I'm not going in the woods alone!" she hissed. He nodded, quickly following her towards the latrine.

The other three quietly examined the aftermath. Chakotay lifted one of the canisters for inspection. Harry started picking up the scattered firewood, tossing it piece by piece back towards the firepit. Seven lifted the bit of mangled metal that had been a lantern, turning it over in her hands. There was no repairing it.

"What could have done all this?" Harry asked, his voice angry as he threw another log towards the firepit. "Silently?"

"No idea." answered Chakotay. He held up the canister in his hand. "At least the canisters aren't ruined. We can still use them for food and water."

"Did anyone bring a canteen in the shuttle?" Harry poked around the pile of firewood he had regathered.

"No." said Seven, dropping the lantern on the pile of useless wire by the shuttle. "There are still a couple of emergency ration water bottles intact in the cage, but they won't last long."

"No, we will have to go get more water. Ration bars won't last either." said Chakotay, slinging a canister over his back. "Good thing we are so close to food and water."

"Anything salvageable?" B'Elanna asked, slipping out of the woods with Tom. She walked up to the hatch, toeing a round bit of firewood back towards the former firepit.

"Well, the firewood is okay." Harry deadpanned, tossing another log back towards his pile. "But not much else is."

"So are we all up for a hike?" Tom asked, taking one of the canisters from Chakotay. "We can make it to the grove before it's full-on-hot if we hurry."

"Yeah." Chakotay nodded. "Let's gather some gear and head out. We should shut the hatch, too, just in case. Don't need to come home to a dinophant trying to make it its new home."

 **XXX**

"Bet I can climb higher than you can!" Tom called from his tree over to Harry's. The younger man looked at him and laughed, shaking his head. "Aw, come on, Harry!"

"I've already broken an arm here." Harry yelled back with a grin. "I don't want to add a leg or my neck to the list!"

Tom waved him off. "Spoiled sport!" he teased, climbing up a few branches in search of more eggs. So far he had only found four- not nearly enough. He glanced back down at the ground below him. B'Elanna was sitting curled up next to the base of his tree, eating her breakfast of berries and the flesh of the gold and green tree fruit. Seven was curled beside her with her own handful of blue strawberry-flavored berries from the far end of the grove.

"Found another egg." Chakotay's voice revealed his grin before his face could be seen popping out from behind a branch with a little nest wedged into its crook. "That makes six."

"I think you guys have plenty of those nasty eggs." B'Elanna called up to them. "You and Tom are the only ones that are going to eat them anyway."

"I'm not eating them." Harry yelled down, carefully climbing down his tree. He hung from the bottom-most branch for a second or two, enjoying the stretch in his arm muscles, before dropping down to the ground below. The young man walked over to B'Elanna, pulling his two eggs out of his pockets and handing them down to the half-Klingon. "Special delivery- two disgusting skunk eggs."

"You know, eat enough of those ration bars and you just might change your mind." Tom dropped down behind Seven and B'Elanna, watching Chakotay do the same at the next tree.

"I would rather boil our shoes for the leather." returned Harry, sitting down and taking a handful of offered berries from B'Elanna. "It would taste better."

Chakotay laughed, pulling four eggs out of one pocket and holding them out to Seven to place with the others. "Not Tom's shoes." he laughed. "You could choke a horse with his feet."

"It's hot and I sweat." Tom scowled. He smirked, sidling up beside Chakotay. "Besides, at least I don't have egg on my pants." When Chakotay scrunched his nose in confusion, Tom punched the commander's hip, cracking the two eggs left in his pocket with a loud crunch.

"Hey!" Chakotay clapped the man back, turning his pocket inside out to let the orange and green egg remnants drop to the ground beside him with a wet squelch. He grabbed a handful of the shell and remaining goo clinging to the material, and smeared it across Tom's chest. "Looks like you made a mess there, Tom."

Tom jumped back with a disgusted noise, brushing the wet shell and yolk away. "Damnit!"

"Serves you right, Flyboy." B'Elanna rolled her eyes, non-plussed. She paused her peeling to squint at the two egged men. "You are both lucky we're planning on washing clothes today."

"Tell 'em, Maquis." Harry laughed, totally missing the conspiratorial look shared between the two soiled men. He didn't, however, miss Chakotay taking two of the eggs back from Seven's lap and handing one to Tom. "Don't you dare..." Harry scrambled back onto his haunches, standing as the two flanked him. "No!" He stumbled back over a root as they lunged, taking both eggs to the chest. The runny goo splashed up across his face and ran down his chest in a green and orange stream. "Ack! Gross!"

 **XXX**

"Finally." B'Elanna murmured, taking out her empty canteen and heading for the water's edge. Seven eagerly followed her, leaning down beside her and cupping her hands in the cool water. She brought a handful to her mouth and sucked it down, then splashed her face. The three behind them set the food canister down and quickly dipped the other two into the water to fill them before sucking down their own mouthfuls of the clear clean liquid.

"We should hurry and clean up while it is nice." Harry said, splashing his face, wiping the grime and egg away with his hands.

"If you guys take off your clothes, we can wash them out." said the half-Klingon, sitting on a large rock and kicking off her shoes. "You can move downstream a bit from us." She pointed to the bend in the small river several meters ahead, and the larger outcropping of rock making a natural wall. "You can clean up down there."

"Wait, you're banishing us?" Harry asked. Chakotay laughed behind him.

"Yes." was B'Elanna's simple answer. "Unless you want to take a group bubblebath, then the three of you can move on. Leave your clothes."

"We're married." said Tom, smirking playfully.

"Yeah, well," B'Elanna gestured to Seven. "You two aren't. Scram."

"Here." Chakotay rolled his eyes, pulling his shirt off and dropping it by the water's edge. "Don't lose it."

"Alright then. Have it your way." said Tom, pulling his own shirt over his head.

"I will. Hurry it up, flyboy."

"I don't see either of you having to strip.." Harry grumbled, kicking off his shoes and socks.

"That's the point." said Chakotay, pulling off one shoe and then the other, setting them next to the full canisters. "Come on- I'm going for a swim." He quickly shucked his uniform trousers and socks with his shirt, and started off down towards the bend in his black boxers. Tom quickly followed.

"Oh no you don't!" B'Elanna called after them. "Chakotay, Tom, come dig us a fire pit! Don't act like this is your first time washing clothes in a damn river!"

"Fire pit?" Seven frowned. "What for?"

"To heat some water to wash clothes." returned B'Elanna, rolling her eyes at the reluctant pout on Tom's face and Chakotay's bark of laughter.

"I forgot, I forgot." Tom said, walking back. He started to dig a small hole a few feet from the water's edge. "Are you going to use one of the canisters?"

"Yes." answered B'Elanna, gathering the dirty clothes into a pile.

"Exactly how do you wash clothes in a river?" Harry asked, holding out his clothes.

"With river water." returned the half-Klingon. "Go help them, would you?"

"Yes, ma'am." Harry rolled his eyes, walking over to help gather some kindling. While the girls waited by the water's edge, the boys quickly built a small fire, dumped half of the water out of a canister, and set it up next to the coals to begin heating.

"Better?" asked Chakotay, hands on his hips.

"It'll do." B'Elanna shooed the three down towards the bend, dunking some of the clothes down into the heating water.

"Don't shrink my shirt!" Tom called back down the beach.

B'Elanna grabbed a rock and chucked it at him, missing by ten feet, but getting her point across. She turned back to Seven with a roll of her eyes, and shrugged out of her jacket. "Come on. We can lay out in the water while the clothes soak."

 **XXX**

The day passed by lazily. It took two hours to wash all the clothes, boiling them before using Chakotay's walking stick to fish them out of the canister and throw them into the river to be cooled. Once cooled, they were scrubbed against a smooth rock beside the water. Scoured and rinsed, the girls laid the wet fabric out over tree branches and other rock outcroppings nearby to dry in the sun. The rest of their morning was spent either lounging in the water, or lounging in the sun on one of the bigger rocks. The two women had been relatively quiet, enjoying the peace. They could hear the men around the bend laughing, splashing, and whooping it up.

"Now look at them." B'Elanna broke the silence, sliding up onto the big rock Seven was laid out on with a data PADD, stowed in one of the canisters, held over her head to read. She took the small PADD from the blonde and pointed down to the bend. "Look."

Seven turned her head, sitting up. Across from the bend in the water was a tall outcropping of rock. For several meters that she could see, rocks sprouted up in a long wall around the water. Tom was halfway up one in his boxers, climbing the twenty foot rock face and turning back to the water. He held his nose, and jumped off feet first. His resulting splash was loud, and sprayed water high enough to be seen over the outcrop that separated the two groups.

"Tom?!" Chakotay yelled, his voice a worried question.

Harry's voice yelled out at the same time in the same tone. "Are you okay?!"

" _Mierde._ " B'Elanna started to slide off the rock to hurry to her husband's aid, but Seven stopped her, gesturing back to the rocks.

"I'm good!" Tom called. There was a loud series of splashes before Chakotay and Harry made it to the other side and began scaling up to jump themselves.

"Are you kidding me?" B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "Kahless, they're going to break their damn necks landing on a rock!"

"The water should be sufficiently deep." commented Seven, taking her data PADD back just as the battery ran out. She scowled down at the now-useless tech. She looked back to the rocks in time to watch Chakotay shove Harry off the little cliff-face. The ensign squeaked before he splashed. Chakotay laughed, bent over and slapping his knees until Tom snuck up behind him and gave him a shove. "...I hope."

The half-Klingon snorted. "I swear, they all turn into little boys the moment our back is turned."

"Perhaps that is for the best." Seven murmured. "At least they are not stressed out right now." She slid down from the rock and walked to the pile of gear, tucking her PADD back in the canister with the fruit.

"True." commented B'Elanna, watching Seven walk towards the treeline. "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom." answered the ex-drone over her shoulder, slipping into the woods.

"Don't go too far."

"I'm not."

B'Elanna rolled her eyes, looking back towards the men-turned-boys scrambling up the rocks.

Seven pinched the bridge of her nose again. The headache was slowly getting worse, taking more of her attention and becoming harder to ignore, needling around behind her eyes. She quickly went about her business and stood. A wave of dizziness came over her, and she had to flail out her arms to catch herself on the sapling in front of her to regain her balance. The headache bloomed for a brief moment, putting stars in her eyes and throwing her center of gravity off before ebbing away as fast as it had come on.

Letting the sounds of splashing and laughing and the crackling of wood in the dying fire ground her, she clutched the sapling with one hand and rubbed her temple with the other, willing the dizziness away. After a few minutes, she was steady enough to let go of the sapling, and redress, looking down to make sure she didn't slip. The last thing she needed was to fall into a puddle of her own making. Glancing back, she did a double take, dread rising in her chest, compressing her lungs, as she watched the river of black soak into the sand. ' _Black?_ ' A cold chill tickled down her spine. "...nanoprobes."

Ignoring her headache again, she quickly stumbled her way back to the open sandy beach, hurrying down to the water's edge and taking a seat. ' _How many hours has it been?_ ' Her chronometer was sluggish in its reply, further worrying her. ' _One hundred, thirty-two hours, seventeen minutes, twenty-one seconds since last regeneration cycle._ '

"I'll be right back." B'Elanna said, slipping off the rock and heading for the treeline. "All that splashing got to me." She chuckled, finding herself a suitable tree near Seven's and making use of it. "The clothes are almost dry." she said, speaking loud enough to be heard on the beach. "We should call the others back for them." Seven ignored her, and she rolled her eyes, stepping away from her tree and meandering her way back. "Oh, sucks to be you." she said, stepping over the wet sand by the other tree. "You picked a great week for that, didn't you?"

Seven barely paid her any mind, tallying up the numbers in her head, and having her cortical node do a quick diagnosis despite the headache doubling as the nanoprobes were put to more work.

B'Elanna walked down to the waters edge, putting her feet in. "Wish you could pick the week, right?" Seven continued to ignore her. She looked down at the blonde. Seven was sitting, knees drawn up to her bare chest, eyes wide, pupils blown, lips bloodless. "Seven?.. Seven.." She reached over and snapped her fingers by the blonde's ear. Seven jumped like she had been bitten, a soft, startled squeak passing through her lips before she whipped her head up to meet B'Elanna's eyes. "Hey.." B'Elanna began, "..What's wrong? I won't tell the guys."

Seven frowned, scrunching her nose. "Won't tell them what?"

"That it's shark week."

"Shark week?"

"Old saying. Sharks are giant animals that live in the ocean. Don't worry- I won't tell."

"Pardon?"

B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "That you're on your period." She drew her brows together, taking in Seven's posture and the wild look in her eyes. "What's the matter? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Her own eyes widened as she whipped her head around, scanning the treeline behind them for signs of a doppleganger. There was nothing there. "Seven?"

"It's not that." Seven mumbled, crossing her arms over her knees.

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing, Lieutenant."

The half-Klingon scowled. "Well, that cements it. Something is wrong- you haven't called me Lieutenant since we left Voyager." She put her hands together under her belly, supporting the weight with her arms for a moment. "We could cut up another pair of sweatpants for you."

Seven shook her head, looking back out across the water. "It's not menstrual blood. It's... nanoprobes."

"Nanoprobes?" B'Elanna pouted, thinking. "I thought that nanoprobes stayed in your bloodstream unless you inject them into something with your tubules..."

"They do stay in my bloodstream... When they are active. When they are inactive, they are filtered out of the body via the kidneys."

"Inactive? Why are they in-..." B'Elanna paused for a heartbeat, the pieces falling together. "Because you aren't regenerating." Her widened eyes met the widened eyes of the ex-drone. "Holy shit, Seven, I'm so sorry! I didn't even think- I mean I- I didn't- I forgot all about your mobile regenerator!"

"It is not something that I would think you would have to remember, B'Elanna." Seven said, uncrossing her arms and bringing her hands up to rub her temples. "Sleeping and eating help, but I'll never be totally weaned from my alcove it seems."

"Your head hurts." observed the half-Klingon. "Is that from the nanoprobes, too?" When Seven reluctantly nodded, she slipped into mother hen mode. "How long can you go without?"

"As a drone, a little over a week."

"How long has it been?"

"...Six days."

"What happens after a week?"

Seven pursed her lips, turning her eyes back to the trees and rocks across the water. "I... will continue to lose nanoprobes until there are no longer enough left in my bloodstream to maintain my implants..." She gulped. "And then they will start to reject. Like when my cortical node began to malfunction."

B'Elanna reached out, grabbing Seven's left arm, and lifting it up to see the implant that ran from her fingertips to mid-forearm before it sunk into the pale skin. The soft skin was beginning to turn pink and irritated along the edges of the implant. "Oh, Kahless.. We've got to tell-"

"You will not tell Chakotay!" Seven pulled her arm back. "There is enough going on without him having to worry about this. I will adapt."

"And if you don't adapt?"

"There isn't anything I can do to change this. Either i will adapt or I will not. There is no point in Chakotay worrying about it."

"You don't think he would want to know?"

"Oh, I am certain he would want to know, but there isn't anything that can be done. The ship has no power. My mobile regenerator has no power. We don't know how long it will take the Captain to come for us. The less he has to worry about it, the better."

"Hey, B'Elanna!" Tom suddenly rounded the rock the girls were sitting beside. Both spun around at the intrusion. The blonde man slapped a hand over his eyes. "Sorry!" He turned towards the woodline and away from his scowling wife and the topless ex-drone. "Good thing we didn't send Harry- he'd die of a heart attack!"

"What do you want, Tom?" asked B'Elanna, handing Seven her now-dry shirt from the rock behind them.

"We were getting hungry." answered the man, crossing his arms. "It's after noon. I was volunteered to see if it was lunchtime."

"Oh, yeah, the clothes are pretty dry." B'Elanna said, rounding Tom to grab a pair of pants for a pot holder to knock over the last of the heated water in the canister. She rolled it down to the water to cool. "Go tell Chakotay and Harry they can come on back. I'm getting a little hungry, too."

"Okay. Be right back." said Tom, jogging back off down the beach.

The two girls quickly gathered the rest of their clothes and dressed before the three men could return. B'Elanna set about sorting their canister of fruit, using a cleaned rock to make piles for everyone. Seven walked around the different trees and rocks, gathering the dried clothes and depositing them beside B'Elanna's piles. When the others returned and dressed, they settle down to eat.

"We should come back and swim tomorrow." Harry said around a mouthful of blue fruit. "And every other day until we are rescued. May as well have a bit of fun while we wait."

"If we stay in a group, we should be safe enough, right?" said Tom, pulling B'Elanna down to sit between his legs in the sand. The half-Klingon settled against him, her back against his chest, and popped a snozzberry into his mouth as his hands wandered over her rounded belly and their baby within.

"Have fun jumping off that big rock?" B'Elanna asked Tom, moving his hands to where the baby was moving the most. "It's a wonder you didn't break something."

"The water was deeper there in front of it." said Chakotay, putting his arm around Seven's waist and pulling her up beside him. She leaned into his side, listening without eating. "I'm pretty sure there's a big cave down under the water. Looked that way anyway."

"We could try to swim down in it if we came back tomorrow." said Harry. "See how far we can go- or at least how long we can hold our breath."

"Yeah!" Tom nodded. "Wanna come?"

"Hell no!" B'Elanna shook her head, giving Tom a disapproving look over her shoulder. "You are not swimming down into some uncharted, unknown, underground cave! Are you nuts?"

"I, too, am against this idea." commented Seven, absently rubbing at a twinge in her hip implant. "If something were to happen, we do not have the necessary equipment to deal with it. No transporters, no sensors- not to mention diving gear."

"What- do you have a death wish?" B'Elanna rolled her eyes, popping another snozzberry in her mouth.

Chakotay chuckled, absently running his thumb over the twinging implant, unknowingly soothing it as Seven relaxed bonelessly against his side. "Well, the farther down the beach you go, the higher the rocks get. Looks like all kinds of nooks and crannies and little cave mouths down that way. We could explore those above water."

"We'll see." The half-Klingon rolled her eyes. "Like we can't stir up enough trouble just in the woods. Freaking body doubles and Seven singing in the woods already, but no- let's go explore some freaking caves while we're at it." She raised an eyebrow. "I know every damn one of you has watched at least one horror film on that damned television set. Act like it."

Chakotay was the first to laugh, followed by Harry and then Tom. "Alright, you win. We won't go poking around." said Tom.

"Aren't you hungry? You ate like a bird this morning." Chakotay asked Seven as he got his chuckle under control, looking down at her. She was a warm lump of blonde against him, absently rubbing the bridge of her nose and ignoring the pile of fruit before her. "Does your head hurt?" he asked her quietly.

Seven pushed herself up away from his side, sitting up on her knees. "I'm fine." she answered, picking at the berries in her pile without actually eating any of them. She glanced up at B'Elanna watching her with a frown before she looked back to meet Chakotay's eyes. "Just an itch."

 _XXX_

"No, no! You remember that time we had that shipment of green goo?" B'Elanna laughed, swinging Tom's arm as they walked hand in hand with the others back towards their ruined campsite. "And the Bolian that wanted us to deliver it was insistent that it was kept sealed up and completely in the dark?"

"Oh, Spirits..." Chakotay muttered, rolling his eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes." said the half-Klingon. "And remember how ol' Spoonhead and Chell used to argue over who made the best food?"

"Yes..." mumbled Chakotay, lacing his fingers with Seven's. "Neither of them could cook."

"And remember the time that Spoonhead spiked Chell's chili so that it tasted like the underside of a targ? So Chell decided to tell her he got this new face cream from whichever last stop we had made, and filled a jar with that green goo?"

"And she stole it from him." said the commander. "And used it."

"And had a face full of blisters for a week!" laughed B'Elanna. "Serves her right. Chell was a better chef anyway. Marginally, but better."

"He makes good chili." commented Harry. "At least he doesn't use leola root."

"His chili is good- it's his hangover cure that you have to watch out for." said Tom. "Two cups of coffee, two raw eggs, a squirt of Romulan ale, and a handful of Bolian bloodcheese..." He stuck his tongue out. "Though, I suppose you were so busy throwing up that you didn't care you had a headache anymore... Kinda worked that way."

"Gross!" Harry scrunched his nose. "You actually drank it?"

"Well he didn't tell me what it was first!" defended the pilot. "He just said here and gave it to me. Cleaned me out from start to finish, though. Virgin gut all over again after that."

Chakotay snorted, glancing over at Seven beside him. She had her fingers pinched across her nose again. He scowled, pulling her against his side as they walked, his arm releasing her hand to wrap around her shoulders. " _¿Estás bien, cariño?_ " he asked softly. She answered him with a nod, putting her hand down and continuing on beside him as though she were. He watched her peripherally as they continued, listening to Tom and Harry trade war stories about the difference between Neelix and Chell's cooking. Three times in ten minutes Seven began to bring her hand back up to her face before catching herself and dropping it. Letting the others walk a little ahead of them, he stopped and turned her towards him. "Seven, honey, what's the matter?"

A deer in headlights look crossed her face before she could school it. "Nothing, Chakotay, really." she answered. "Just a headache. I'm just a little dehydrated."

He pulled his canteen up and pressed it into her hands. "Well, drink up." he said, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek. "I don't like seeing you in pain." The blonde nodded, taking a sip to appease him before they carried on. "You and B'Elanna can go sit in the Flyer while Harry and Tom and I clean the rest of the crater up. Maybe Tom can give you a shot of-"

" _Holy shit, are you kidding me?!_ " Tom half-shrieked ahead of them. Seven and Chakotay looked up to see what was wrong. The other three had already stepped out of the woods and into the clearing around the campsite, their pace cautious. Tom had pushed B'Elanna behind him. Chakotay and Seven quickly jogged up to the treeline, stepping out behind the others.

Nothing in the campsite was as it had been left. The logs that had been splintered and knocked to the four corners were now back surrounding the firepit for them to sit on. The pit itself was as it had been the night before down to the half-charred firewood still inside. Beside the pit, Harry's firewood was stacked neatly. Everything that had been destroyed that morning was suddenly back as though it had never happened. No sooty river across the ground, nor evidence of their ever having being one. The only thing that was not the same, was that the little lantern was still a squashed bit of metal and glass beside the fire- and not on the trash pile where Seven had put it.

"What.. the.. hell?" Chakotay murmured, following Tom's lead and keeping the girls behind them whether they liked it or not. "How?"

"This is some of that twilight zone crap.." Harry said, gulping audibly as he took a step forward to the Flyer. The hatch was still shut tight from earlier with no signs of anyone trying to force their way inside. He walked to the side and rapped his knuckles on the hatch, listening to the metallic thud-thud-thud before he would believe it wasn't all a mirage.

"What do we do now?" B'Elanna asked quietly, peering out between Chakotay and Tom, her eyes roving disbelievingly across the grounds.

"Check the shuttle." Seven whispered, turning around to peer into the woods behind her. No dopplegangers to be found.

"Kahless.." breathed B'Elanna, her eyes wide as they landed on the Flyer.

"You two stay here." Chakotay said over his shoulder at the girls. He scowled at their indignant expressions. "Just stay here- that's an order."

"Ass." spat B'Elanna, stepping up against Seven so that their arms touched. She turned her attention to the blonde once Chakotay and Tom followed Harry into the clearing. "How's your head?"

"Pounding." Seven answered after a moment's hesitation, allowing her hands to come up and massage her temples.

"Is it getting worse?" B'Elanna winced in sympathy as Seven nodded once. "I can have Tom give you an analgesic. Would that help?"

"I don't know if it would or not."

The boys lowered the hatch, Chakotay and Harry on either side, and Tom in the middle with Chakotay's walking stick held like a baseball bat. The hatch came open and slowly began to lower between the three tense men.

B'Elanna snorted at them as the hatch hit the dirt with a soft thud. "What are you going to do, Tom? Ask it if it wants to come out and play?"

"Shut up, _Be'nal_." he called back, taking a step into the shuttle, Chakotay and Harry on his heels.

"This is ridiculous." muttered the half-Klingon, crossing her arms. "How much longer until Voyager should be back?" she asked, looking over at the blonde.

Seven accessed her internal chronometer again, and the headache turned piercing- a red hot poker from the base of her skull to her forehead. She couldn't hold in the whimper, her hands now gripping the side of her head like she was afraid it would crack open. After a few seconds of torture, she became aware that she was on her knees by the woodline, B'Elanna kneeling in front of her, cupping her face and speaking. She couldn't hear the words over the electric crackle dying in her ears.

"Seven? Seven?" B'Elanna gently pat the ex-drone's cheek with one hand. "Seven! _Va_ , Seven!"

The blonde managed to shake herself out of her temporary stupor. "-'Lanna?"

"Kahless, Seven!" the half-Klingon breathed a sigh of relief, allowing Seven to sit on her own. "What the hell? Come on, let's go get in the shuttle. The boys can make a fire and cut up the food and you and I have a date with the tricorder." She stood up and gave Seven's arm a tug.

"You guys okay?" Harry stuck his head out of the cleared shuttle. "All good in here."

"Just bored of waiting." returned B'Elanna, helping Seven stand. "You three can start the fire and make the food tonight." she said, leading the ex-drone by the hand towards the Flyer. "We washed all the clothes, so you can do the cooking. Come on, Seven."

Tom was at the medkit inside, loading up a hypospray at Chakotay's insistence. He smiled at the two as they entered, his eyes lingering on Seven. "Hey, Chakotay told me you had a headache. Want a little shot of anodyne?"

Again Seven hesitated, but then nodded and stepped up to him, allowing him to inject the medicine against her neck. "Thank you."

"No problem, sister." he answered, twirling the hypospray with a playful flourish as he put it away. "Who's up for some Kumbaya?" he asked, looking out to where Harry was preparing the wood for a fire.

"Not us." said B'Elanna. "You three can go get started on dinner." She pulled Chakotay's canteen by the strap from his shoulder, and ushered Seven to go sit on the bench and drink from it. She sat beside her. "After all we did today, I think we've earned a break."

Chakotay smiled, walking up to give B'Elanna's head a playful pat. "Yes, good little _housefrau_." he teased. She swatted at him with a laugh. "Do you want one egg or two?"

"Ugh! None!" B'Elanna grimaced, shooing the two snickering men out of the Flyer. With them gone and busy, she grabbed a tricorder and began to program it. She looked up at Seven, holding out the scanner to take some readings. "Let's see what we are working with here." The tricorder beeped, alerting the end of its scan, and B'Elanna took a seat beside Seven on the bench to read the results.

Seven audibly groaned, pulling B'Elanna's hand holding the tricorder to her field of vision, reading. "I've only lost eighteen percent." she muttered bleakly, dropping her hand and leaning her head back against the wall behind her.

"What does that mean exactly?" the half-Klingon asked, reading the results for herself.

"That the total volume of nanoprobes active in my bloodstream is down to eighty-two percent." Seven answered quietly.

"So they are losing charge and dying." B'Elanna murmured.

"Becoming inactive." corrected the ex-drone. "Becoming inactive."

"How long until it becomes.. dangerous?"

Seven closed her eyes, letting out a sigh as the analgesic began to lessen the pressure behind them. "Seventy-five? Fifty?" she shrugged sluggishly. "Drones are not forced to go without regeneration- it would be inefficient to force them to do so.." She scowled, her eyebrows drawing over her closed eyelids. "Several drones.. separated from the Collective.. grid.. seven-two-.. ugh." Blue eyes blinked open, turning to meet brown. "Seventeen drones lasted until their nanoprobe levels were down to fifteen percent. Twelve drones deactivated within seventy-eight hours of reaching fifteen percent.. The remaining five drones deactivated at twelve percent."

"If they didn't want to deactivate them- if the Borg didn't want that particular drone to 'deactivate'.. what would they do? How do you jump-start a drone?"

Seven held her left arm, palm up, to B'Elanna for inspection, allowing her eyes to slide shut again. "There is a coupling.." she half-whispered. With the pain finally gone, it was becoming harder to remain awake. "Coupling to power conduit." She shrugged her shoulders, shimmying her back down to a more comfortable angle. "The Borg would connect to the coupling and use it to recharge the drone."

B'Elanna watched the blonde, going back and forth between worry and amusement as Seven of Nine began to fall asleep against the bulkhead. "And how do they access this coupling?" She asked, running her hand over Seven's wrist. As she watched, a little port slid open in one of the bands, and a small conduit the size of a pencil lead poked out. With a gasp, she pushed Seven's arm out away from her, startling the blonde back awake.

A new spasm of pain sparked behind Seven's eyes, drawing a pained gasp as she reclutched her temples. "What is wrong with you?"

B'Elanna huffed. "You have a Borg tubule shoved in your face and see how you take it!"

"It is not a tubule!" grumbled the pained ex-drone. "It is a conduit- you _ASKED_ me-"

"I know I asked you. Just hold still." B'Elanna pulled Seven's arm back towards her for inspection, looking at the tiny coupling. "So could you stick one of these in a gel pack and suck up some juice that way?"

"Gel packs are not filled with juice." Seven rolled her eyes. "And no- it doesn't work that way. It still has to interface."

"Why don't you go lay down in the cockpit on your bedding?" B'Elanna asked, returning Seven's arm to her side. "You'll be more comfortable. Sleeping should help a little bit, right?"

"Yes."

Harry stuck his head in the shuttle, a plate of berries in his hands. "Since we aren't eating those nasty skunk eggs, food's done. Are you girls coming?"

B'Elanna smiled at him with a nod. "Yeah, we will be there in a minute."

 **XXX**

Chakotay threw his arm around Seven's shoulders, gently pulling her body up close beside his on the log next to the fire. This time she didn't resist him. Earlier, she'd sat rigid, forcing herself to stay awake and alert. Now he could tell she was wearing down and getting sleepy. With a soft sigh, she rested her head against his shoulder, letting her body mold to his side. He held a blue strawberry up to her lips, vaguely thinking of someone feeding their pet parrot a cracker, but she shook her head. "You need to eat something, _Querida_." he said softly, turning and pecking a kiss on her blonde head.

She blew a sigh through her nose, again shaking her head. He dropped the blue strawberry back onto the lid with the rest of her uneaten dinner. He knew she was too stubborn for him to wear down, and knowing her head was bothering her kept him from pestering her too much.

"Is she going to be okay?" Harry asked from Chakotay's other side, watching the blonde with a worried expression. "Maybe Tom should take a more thorough look-"

"Oh, she's just tired like I am." B'Elanna cut him off, yawning for effect. "It's been a long day. Washing all the clothes in the river was a good-sized job. We didn't just play around all day."

Seven glanced her way with a small smile, letting her eyes shut as she enjoyed just how warm it was here under Chakotay's heavy arm.

"Well, we will all bed down pretty soon." said Tom, poking the fire with a stick. "It's getting dark and none of you have any appreciation for music."

"Tom, it's generally a good idea NOT to make a lot of noise at night." Harry said with a roll of his eyes. "Something is obviously watching us from the woods.."

"Something is royally fucking with us from the woods." Tom corrected, glancing around the pitch black treeline.

"Well, let's not draw any extra attention from it then." B'Elanna said, giving her mate a gentle poke in the ribs. "I'm tired, Seven is tired, let's start settling down for the night."

"I'm putting the food and water in the shuttle." Harry said resolutely, standing to do just that. "That way, if something comes back tonight, they can't dump it all out again." He lugged the first water canister up into the hatch, setting it by the broken lockers. Tom hopped up to join him, carrying the second water canister in to set beside it. The canister of fruit and eggs was set with them.

B'Elanna stood up, stretching her back before cupping her hands beneath her rounded belly. "I'll lay out the beds." she mumbled with a yawn, trekking her way up into the shuttle. She disappeared into the cockpit to lay out those beds first, then tossed down her own in the aft.

Chakotay looked down at Seven, reaching up and running a hand along her jawline. She half-mumbled something under her breath, cuddling in closer to him, fast asleep. He ran his thumb over her starburst. " _Hola, Hermosa...¿Estás dormido?_ " he said softly. She frowned in her sleep, again mumbling something soft and indiscernible. "Wake up, _mi amor_."

"You guys coming?" Tom called from the aft, hanging the lantern from the hook.

"Yeah." Chakotay answered him, then turned his attention back to Seven, "Come on, then, _Querida_." He reached over, hooking his arms under her legs, and pulled her into his lap before standing with her in his arms. She came alive with the shift in gravity, her eyes opening wide and her hands clutching his shirt with a sharp gasp. He half-smirked down at her. "And here I thought I would get to carry you in." he said in mock disappointment, letting her stand on her own two feet.

"I'd never hear the end of it from Tom." she mumbled, taking his hand and following him inside.

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~LM**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes: Hi! Welcome to chapter 10! Thank you to all who have made it this far with me! A special thanks to Scifiromance and Starshine for putting up with my obsessive notes, and for all the proof-reading and idea bouncing! Life would suck without y'all! Anyway, on to the chapter!**

 **Obligatory Legalities: I don't own them, and I never will, and now I'm sad about that. Thanks, Paramount.**

 **XXX**

B'Elanna was becoming real sick, real fast, of being the first one to wake in the mornings. Just in general, waking all hours of the night made her grumpy. She knew once the baby came, she would definitely be up all hours of the night, and her time with her precious sleep was coming to an end. Perhaps the quarter Klingon inside her was preparing her for the bumpy ride ahead. The half Klingon groaned, trying to pull her blanket tighter around her body with no effect. Tom had rolled over in the night and taken his body heat with him, leaving her cold on the edge of the mattresses. When she attempted to turn to follow him, her back and hips screamed out in protest. Whoever had come up with the design for the emergency sleep mats had not had pregnant women in mind. Just as she decided to suck it up and try to go back to sleep, the baby decided it was time to practice her kickboxing skills.

Sleep was now out of the question entirely.

With another groan, B'Elanna forced herself to sit up, and threw back her blanket to pull around her like a cape. ' _Well, this sucks._ ' she thought, leaning back enough to peer out of the aft and into the midsection and cockpit. It was still fairly dark outside. She would guess about four AM, planet time. She had nothing much to do- she couldn't turn on the light without waking Tom and Harry- not that she cared to wake them but she really wasn't in the mood for all the complaining it would stir up. There was NO going outside alone. Kahless knew what it was that was apparently stalking them in the woods. At least it seemed to leave them alone during the daytime.

Her eyes roamed over the aft section, adjusting to the low level of light inside. Klingon genes for the win, there. Finally, they settled on the shut doors above the broken lockers, and the wheels inside her head began to turn. ' _If Tom really does have..._ '

 **XXX**

" _baQa! ...ghay'cha!_ "

Seven was slow to rouse. Sleeping was not nearly as efficient as a good regeneration cycle, and her consciousness was becoming more and more sluggish in its return the longer she went without it. Her headache still hovered around the periphery of her senses but the stinging needles were gone for now. The ex-drone curled tighter against the commander on their camp mattress. As his arm tightened comfortably around her waist, though, she figured that human sleep- at least with him- wasn't at all bad. She had to admit that, sick or not, his warmth beat her cold alcove any day. With a contented sigh, she blindly cupped his face with her metal-laced hand, stroking the prickly dark whiskers growing there.

" _VA!_ "

The last dregs of sleep bled out of her mind at the sound of the voice. Seven finally blinked open her eyes. She was laying face to face with Chakotay, so close that she could feel his breath breezing over her chin. Her stomach was flat against his, his arm tight around her waist and his leg situated between her knees. She smiled, content, briefly, before turning her head to look up at the direction of the voice.

B'Elanna noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye, cursing again as the little wires held in her fingertips sparked off one another. "Sorry." she said quietly, knowing Seven could hear her. "I didn't mean to wake you guys." She turned to meet the blonde's eyes. "How's your head?"

Seven waved off her apology, carefully disentangling herself from Chakotay's arms. "It doesn't hurt much right now." she answered softly, tucking the blanket back around Chakotay's body before crawling the couple of feet to B'Elanna's side. "What are you doing?"

The half Klingon sat cross-legged beside the tactical console, her blanket wrapped around her shoulders, obscuring the laser tools and the black box she was tinkering with. "Your conduit thingy gave me an idea." she whispered, flipping the box over to reveal a replica twenty-first century boombox. "I'm trying to use this power source to bypass the fused circuitry in this console. Maybe we can get something up and running. A diagnostic or something."

"That would be satisfactory." murmured Seven, shivering.

"Yeah." said B'Elanna. She gestured to her rounded belly. "This little one wouldn't let me sleep. I figured I may as well work on something." She glanced at the shivering blonde. "Cold?"

"Yes. The sooner we get some power back on, the better. I will assist you."

"Good." B'Elanna reached out and yanked Seven to sit close beside her. "Here, share my blanket." she said, putting the silver blanket around Seven's shoulder's, too. "If we can get this gel pack to power this console, we may be able to get some lights and heat on. Maybe even see if the computer core is junk or not."

"Have you attempted re-routing the power coupling?"

"First thing I tried. Now I'm trying to go directly into the motherboard." She handed Seven the gel pack, and focused on the wires she had coming out of it. "But these packs weren't made to work this way." She paused as she received a rather ruthless kick in the side. "I think she is getting antsy, too."

Seven scowled. "Elaborate. How could your fet- _she_.. have knowledge of our present situation?"

B'Elanna chuckled. "That's not what I meant." she explained, crossing another wire and screwing it into place. "She's just really active this morning. Makes me wonder if she can tell when I'm agitated or not." With the wire in place, she set down the laser screwdriver and grabbed Seven's empty hand. Before the blonde could react, she pulled it forward and pressed it flat against her rounded belly where her daughter's kicks were strongest. "Feel?"

Seven gasped in surprise at the movement under her palm, pulling her hand back like she'd been bitten. "Oh!"

The half Klingon chuckled again, taking Seven's hand back into her own and putting it soundly over her daughter's feet. "She can't bite you, Snugglebunny." She smiled at the surprise still painted on the blonde's face. "See?" The baby gave a few more good kicks beneath their hands.

"I did not realize that her movements could be felt from outside of your womb." Seven's voice was a hushed, almost awed, whisper.

"Oh, yeah. Why do you think Tom and the Captain are always rubbing her?"

"I.. I.." Seven pulled her hand back. "I thought it was a friendly gesture."

Again B'Elanna laughed. "I guess some people take it that way. I don't care to be pawed." She turned her attention back to the gel pack. "Now, if we can just tweak these little..." Her tongue just barely stuck past her teeth as she carefully soldered the last tiny wire. The console above them flickered to life, its screen nearly painfully bright in the darkened space. "Yes!"

Seven sprang into action, quickly reaching up to check that the console could read whether there was any life left in the main computer or not. The console beeped twice in response to her hand, then shorted, releasing a shower of sparks across their laps that lit the whole cockpit up like a streak of lighting. Both girls squealed in surprise, flinging themselves back from the exposed circuitry.

"What the hell?!" Chakotay jerked awake, sitting up and twisting around to see the two girls sprawled together on the floor.

"Damnit all!" B'Elanna groaned as Seven pulled her up to sit. She all but pouted at the gel pack dangling precariously from the one wire that didn't fuse in the short. "I was so close.."

Chakotay was across the cockpit in two seconds, checking them both for injuries. "What did you do?" He sighed in relief when the two girls were startled but not singed.

"Tried to get the power back on." B'Elanna said with a sigh.

Seven moved back to the wiring, taking the gel pack and snatching it off the wires before turning to the opps console and slipping beneath it. "The main computer isn't one hundred percent dead." she said, yanking the bottom cover plate off and tossing it away from her with a thud.

"It's not?" B'Elanna slid over to her side, grabbing up her laser screwdriver and joining the blonde beneath the console. "Hand me that wire. No, that one!" B'Elanna held up her tool to Seven. "Here, get that one!" She pulled the motherboard down out of the console and into their lap.

"Cross these two." Seven said, pointing out two tiny connections, using her cybernetic eye to follow their path across the motherboard. "Right here." When B'Elanna touched the little laser tool to the wires, the air vents in the ceiling began to blow air.

"We did it!" B'Elanna reached over and hugged Seven in her exuberance. "We've got HVAC!"

"How, without the console?" Chakotay asked, noting that the console was dead as a doornail.

"We bypassed it." said B'Elanna, gently setting the motherboard down with the little gel pack. "This gel pack will only last for a day or so. We will have to start harvesting the others tomorrow."

"So we can get power back?" asked the commander.

Seven shook her head. "The ship is too damaged for full power." she answered. "But we can bypass a few tiny things here and there maybe."

B'Elanna stood up, walking to the air vent above the door to the midsection. As she approached, the door itself slid fully open, dropping the heavy bent bar that had been propping it. It fell with a loud clang and rolled the two steps through the midsection and down into the aft, startling all five inhabitants.

"What the hell?!" Tom shot up out of his bed at the noise, Harry right behind him.

B'Elanna chuckled. "Looks like we've got doors, too." She opened the little door to the lavatory, poking her head inside. "Damnit, bathroom doesn't work though."

"What is going on?" asked Tom.

"Hey, it's not freezing anymore." Harry said, his eyes bright. "Did you get power back?"

The door to the cockpit shut behind B'Elanna as she walked down the two steps to the aft. "Just heat and doors, apparently." she answered. "Now we won't freeze!" The door slid back open for Chakotay and Seven to come down into the aft as well. "We can be a little more comfortable as we wait for Voyager to come rescue us."

"This is so much better." Harry was practically giddy. Tom chuckled along with him, enjoying the warmth returning to the room.

"Hopefully it holds out." said Chakotay. He glanced at Seven. "I'm still tired. What about you?" When she nodded, hiding a yawn behind her hand, he stepped back up the two steps. " _Venga, chika._ " he said to her, then glanced at the other three already resettling down. "See you in the morning."

"Goodnight." said B'Elanna, laying down between Harry and Tom.

"See ya." said Harry, happily curling in his blanket. Tom waved them off, curling around his wife.

Inside the cockpit, behind the now-closed door, Chakotay pulled his shirt off and tossed it over the back of the tactical console before retaking his place on the camp mattresses. When Seven knelt down beside him to take her place, he pulled her down into his arms, putting her head over his heart and giving the crown of her head a quick kiss. "Goodnight, _mi amor_."

The warmth from his skin, and the soothing sound of his heartbeat lulled her quickly back towards sleep. With a little smile as she curled closer to his side, she turned her head enough to kiss the skin over his heart. "Goodnight, _Querido_."

 **XXX**

"Oh Lord..." Kathryn muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she turned from the dressing mirror to pull on her robe. "Let's get this day over with as fast as possible..." The last time she had worn this particular bathrobe, there had been a horny, insistent Q stalking her. Heaven help, she sure didn't need that mess all over again. She walked into her living area as the door chimed. "Computer, who is at my door?" ' _It better not be Q... That's all I need to deal with today..._ '

 _*"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok is outside your quarters."*_

The Captain grabbed the robe's belt, pulling it tight at her waist. "Come in."

When the door swished open, Tuvok stepped in, eyes up and forward and as far away from her as they could be without him turning around. He, too was in a purple bathrobe and nothing else- bare calves and feet beneath, and a swatch of dark skin visible at the part beneath his throat. "Captain." he said by way of greeting.

"Tuvok." she returned, also avoiding his eyes. She unconsciously tightened the knot in her belt again, curling her toes into the carpet. "I assume you are ready to get this over with."

"Yes, Captain." he answered. "The Tinvariian council is waiting in the transporter room. I have requested they remain there while I came to retrieve you."

"Good thinking." said Kathryn. "It wouldn't do to have four naked Tinvariians traipsing about the ship. Think of the scandal." She managed a smirk, and he finally met her eyes. "Come on, Tuvok. Let's go on and be done."

"Captain." he nodded, turning back towards the door.

"Let's just hope the dilithium yield is worth it."

"Yes, Captain."

 **XXX**

The Grand Church of the Seventy-Three Divines loomed hundreds of meters high, it's polished silver walls glinting in the light of binary suns. Stained glass windows portrayed the humors and tragedies of the seventy-three Divines and their Tinvarii compatriots, all played out in the bright shades of purple and green that dominated the planet and its inhabitants. Purple and green clothes kept the people warm- outside of church, at least- purple and green buildings housed them, and purple and green food kept their bellies full. The sky overhead had a purple tint to it due to the unique mixture of trace elements that made up the planet's ozone layer, and the grass below grew lush in a vibrant emerald.

Kathryn again tightened her belt, stepping up to the giant purple doors. She glanced at Tuvok beside her, keeping her eyes up. "Welcome to Oz, Tuvok.."

Tuvok nearly scowled. "Captain?"

"Old Earth movie.. ask Tom about it sometime." When Tuvok only gave her the same flat but slightly curious look, she smirked, gesturing to the doors. "Well? Shall we?"

"We shall." he returned, one eyebrow still slightly raised. "After you?"

"Such a gentleman." The Captain chuckled, stepping through the tall doors.

"Captain!" The High Rectress stood in the middle of a circle of seventy-three lesser priests that lined the room, her arms outstretched, purple and green robes pooling around her feet. She smiled, ushering the two Starfleet officers towards her. "Come! Come! The Grand High is awaiting you in the Interim Hall."

"We are eager to meet with him." said Kathryn, stopping just shy of the yards of purple and green fabric on the floor. Her bare feet were cold on the silver metallic floor.

"This way, please." said the High Rectress, gesturing to the long hallway behind her. "He is awaiting within."

Within was down a hallway at least fifty meters long, and as far as Kathryn could tell, had refrigerated flooring. At the end of the cold hallway was an even colder chamber lined with benches, cubby holes, and with hooks on the walls. It was now or never time.

"Here we go." Kathryn muttered, walking to the last hook on the wall, and untying her belt. Untied, she quickly pulled her robe off and hung it on the hook. The chill in the air immediately hit her body, raising goosebumps all down her bare belly and up her back. With a shiver, she turned around. Tuvok had just dropped his robe, facing away from her, inadvertently giving her an eyeful of his bare back end. Her eyes snapped up to the back of his head. ' _Don't look down- don't look down- don't look down-_ '

"Ready, Captain?" he asked, his eyes looking over her right shoulder instead of meeting her own when he turned towards her.

"Er, yes.." she answered, gesturing to the door. "Lead the way."

"Yes, Captain." He nodded, walking ahead of her.

She took a step back, making way, and instinctively dropped her eyes to her feet. With a gulp and a jump in her heartbeat, she popped her eyes back up to the back of his head before she caught sight of something she didn't want to. ' _Do NOT look down, Kathryn- don't you do it! Eyes up, feet forward!_ '

 **XXX**

"And this," Tal said, trying to keep her voice loud and even as she ushered the group of ten Tinvariians into the room, "Is the mess hall. Our cook, Chell, does his best to come up with all sorts of delicious nibbles. If you would like, we can take a break, and you can try some of the refreshments he has prepared for you." She managed another smile before dodging into the galley. "Chell! Chell..."

The blue chef popped up from behind the last shelving unit, a grease-smeared apron over his uniform and a white chef's hat on his head. "Tal! How nice to see ya!" He blanched. "Oh, is it time? I thought the tour wouldn't be here for another thirty-"

"We went fast!" The young Bejoran hissed a whisper, her eyes just as wide and panicked. "I don't know what I'm doing out here, Chell! I know I told Harr- er, I mean, I know the Captain wanted me to give them the grand tour but they keep asking me all these quest-"

"Promised Mister Harry, eh?" The Bolian waggled his eyebrows. "And how is our Mister Kim, huh? More importantly, how are you doing without your little lover boy?"

"Shut up, Chell, and help me!" Tal's eyes took on the luster and hue of a puppy-dog's. "Please? Just throw some food at them and let me sit in here and hyperventilate for, like, ten minutes?"

Chell chuckled, setting down the bowl of Arelian fire fruit. "Okay, okay, hyperventilate away." He said, pulling his apron off. He steadied the panicky Bajoran with his hands on her elbows, gently placing her against the wall to lean. "Just don't breathe on my souffle- it'll deflate!" With a playful pat on Tal's cheek, he turned and walked back out to the messhall. "Chancellor! How lovely of you to pay our measly little mess hall a visit!"

Tal let out a sigh, slowly sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest and sticking her thumbnail between her teeth. ' _I'm gonna kill you, Harry..._ '

While the young crewman calmed down, Chell was in his element. The Bolian pulled off his chef's hat and set it on the counter as he held his hand out in greeting to the Tinvarii. "I half-expected you all to be in the buff! Pin a rose on _my_ nose!" He shook the leader's hand. "I hope you came hungry, because I have prepared quite the selection of hors d'oeuvres for you!" He gently shuffled the group to the long buffet table. "Try the Bolian cheese curds- they are divine! And for the spice lovers I have some spicy stuffed olives! Yes, those black ones, there- here you go! Eat up!" With a final smile, he slipped back into the galley to check on Tal.

"Thanks, Chell. I owe you one." Tal said softly, head in her hands on the floor. She sighed, pulling her hands down and looking up at the smiling Bolian.

"Don't worry about it." said Chell, pulling a cup down from the shelf and filling it with light blue liquid. He handed it down to Tal with a gentle smile. "Here, just have a drink and get your bearings. I'll have them grazing for at least an hour if I have anything to say about it!"

"I'm glad you're so happy about it."

"Of course I'm happy about it! That last case of cheese from that little convoy we passed by a few weeks ago was starting to turn. This way, we make the locals happy and get rid of the cheese all in one go." said Chell, pouring himself a glass of blue. He paused, sobering, a thoughtful scowl on his face. "I just hope they aren't lactose intolerant..."

Tal grinned, giggling at him. "You better hope not!"

"See, there's a smile." Chell said, taking a sip. "You're gonna be all right. Everything is going to be fine!"

 **XXX**

"Ayala! Ayala!" Chell sprinted from the lift onto the bridge, skidding to a stop at the railing before spinning around to the tactical station and the started ex-Maquis officer working there. "There you are!" the Bolian panted, grabbing the station with both hands.

"What's wrong, Chell?" asked Ayala, giving the blue man a smirk. "Set the galley on fire again?"

"That was one time, and-" Chell shook his head. "We have to get the Captain! Now!"

Ayala's smirk turned into a frown. "Why?"

"The Tinvarii are in the mess hall, and-"

"You didn't poison them, did you?" Megan Delaney asked from her station, smirking at the chef.

He scowled back at her for two seconds. "I'll have you know that they LOVE my food, thank you very much!" He turned back to Ayala. "One of the Tinvarii was talking to me about their dilithium market and I mentioned the planet that Chakotay and B'Elanna are on, and he said that it is a cursed planet! We have to tell the Captain, and then head back for Chakotay!"

"Woah, woah, woah." Ayala waved his hands in front of Chell, cutting his panic off. "Slow down. What about Chakotay?"

"The planet that Chakotay and B'Elanna and Paris and Kim and Seven of Nine are on? The one we left them behind to explore while we came here?" Chell tried to explain it like one would explain it to a small child. "The planet that was just chock full of dilithium and selinium or whatever the hell else its full of?" When Ayala nodded, rolling his eyes, Chell continued. "The reason that a freaking diamond is just sitting in space like a cherry ready to be picked off the tree is because the whole planet is a freaking DEATH TRAP!" He grabbed Ayala's shoulders. "Now would you PLEASE contact the Captain?"

Behind them, standing at the opps console, Icheb looked up, watching the Bolian with a more serious than normal expression. "Crewman?" When Chell looked his way, he continued. "What do you mean by the phrase 'death trap'?"

"Oh, you dear boy." Chell murmured. "Your mother is down there, too." He turned back to Ayala. "Get the Captain on the comm!"

"Crewman." Icheb would allow the crewman's slip for now if he would clarify. "Elaborate on the phrase 'death trap', please."

"The Tinvarii believe that there is a presence on the planet." Chell answered. "A thing that hunts and stalks until it gets you! They used to send murderers and rapists to the planet for execution by the creature, monitoring their lifesigns from their ship, and they would be picked off one by one- all dead within a week!"

"But surely these are superstitions. Seven and I scanned the planet before she brought the idea of the mission up to the Captain with Ensign Kim." said Icheb, a frown forming on his face.

"All the cultures we come across have some sort of demon story." Megan said dismissively, losing interest in the conversation and turning back to her console. "That doesn't make them real."

"We aren't talking about some kooky little horned midget running rampant in the streets to pick off sinners!" Chell grumbled. "We are talking about a planet that the Tinvarii use as a DEATH PLANET... Shouldn't the words DEATH PLANET be enough to contact the CAPTAIN over?"

"Look, even if I wanted to contact the Captain, she does not have a comm badge right now. She's in church!" Ayala explained. "Now, they will be done with whatever the heck church is in another couple of hours, and you can tell her all this then."

Icheb left his post, observing opps, and walked over to Chell. "Where is this Tinvarii that has told you these stories of the planet Seven is on?"

Chell gave the boy an almost guilty look. "He's in the mess hall."

"I would like to hear for myself the story of the planet. Permission to leave the bridge, Lietuenant?" Icheb asked, back ramrod straight as he stood before the two ex-Maquis officers.

"Granted." said Ayala. He gestured to Chell. "Take him with you. The Captain will be back in a few hours. No need to panic until then."

"Oh..Oh... _YOU_!" Chell hissed, turning from Ayala and stalking into the turbolift, holding the door until Icheb joined him.

 **XXX**

"You'll only have about fifteen minutes before Ayala sends a team after you." Chell said, punching in the coordinants for the temple as Icheb took his place on the transporter pad. "Isn't that right, Ensign?" The young ensign nodded, standing leaned against the wall to count his newly acquired holodeck chips while Chell took over his console for a moment.

"Didn't see a thing." he commented, holding one yellow isolinear chip up to the light for better inspection.

"I will hurry, Crewman." said Icheb, standing to attention as the transporter took affect.

Outside of the temple, Icheb quickly got his bearings, pulling out a tricorder and scanning for the captain and Tuvok's lifesigns. They were definitely still in the temple. There were no guards to hinder him, and no one milling about seemed to pay him any mind whatsoever, so he quickly walked to the temple doors.

"Hello, Pilgrim." In the middle of the giant room inside the doors, a woman in purple and green robes stood in the midst of a circle of others. All stood at attention as Icheb stepped inside. The woman in the middle, obviously the one in charge, smiled at him. "You are a long way from your home. What may we help you with today?"

"I have come to speak to my Captain. She is down here visiting this temple." Icheb answered. "It is very important that I see her... Immediately."

"Of course." said the High Rectress. She lifted one arm, the rustle of several yards of purple and green fabric loud in the eerily quiet domed room. Pointing to the long hallway behind her, she spoke. "Your Captain and her Officer are in the Interim with the Grand High. The daily prayer has passed. You may now enter."

Icheb nodded once, taking off at a brisk pace towards the hallway. "Thank you."

"Pilgrim." The High Rectress held her arm out to him again. "There are customs to follow- a sacrament to be made."

"What?"

"No one who enters the Interim may do so with false flesh. All must be bare in the presence of the Gods." Her face turned to view him fully. "You are not yet a man. You may wear a covering."

One of the lesser priestesses around the room walked forward, holding out a thin bit of cloth on two strings. "Your clothes may be hung." she said finally, turning from him and back towards the doorway.

Icheb turned the bit of fabric over in his hands. "...okay. Thank you." he said, hurrying off down the long, cold hallway. He breezed into the cold locker room, thankful that his Borg enhancements kept him from feeling the chill as thoroughly as the next unassimilated person. Two robes hung on either side of the room on hooks. He assumed that they were the Captain's and Tuvok's. Glancing back down the long hallway towards the High Rectress, and seeing that she was no longer paying him any mind, he began to undress.

Without his pants and shirt, his Borg enhancements no longer kept him from feeling the lack of warmth in the chamber. Goosebumps bloomed up and down his arms as he pulled the ties of the loincloth around his hips. As he looped the cord around his finger, his hands began to shiver from the cold. After the fifth failed try at a bow, he pulled the loincloth from his body in frustration. "Irrelevant!" he muttered with a frown, dropping the piece of fabric on the floor and walking resolutely into the next chamber, nude as the day he'd been born.

He walked through five separate chambers- each larger and colder than the one before. Every room was silver-floored with a large domed ceiling hung with green and purple tapestries. Every chamber lead him deeper and deeper into the temple, until only a porthole skylight and pillar-hung torches lit the rooms. Finally, at the doorway to the sixth chamber, he could feel warmth radiating from the door he was about to cross, and could hear the soft slosh of water.

The double doors slid open, revealing a large set of stairs down into the next large chamber. At the bottom was a grand silver altar raised above a floor of cloudy teal water. Below him, the Captain and Tuvok stood naked in water up to their knees, speaking with three Tinvarii, also naked but for their ceremonial headdresses.

"Captain!" he called out, quickly walking down the steps.

Kathryn jumped, startled, as her name echoed off the silver walls. She and Tuvok turned as one to the staircase, staring open-mouthed at the young boy quickly coming down the steps.

"Icheb!" Kathryn turned from him, "What are you doing here?!"

"It is urgent that I speak with you!" said Icheb, sloshing into the water. He stopped behind his superior officers, and turned to the three Tinvarii. He bowed a little. "I apologize for my interruption."

"We were just finishing up." said one with a smile. "We will meet you in the Interim Hall once you are finished." The three bowed to the Captain and Tuvok, bowed to the altar, and filed up the steps and out the door.

"What did you need, Ensign?" asked Tuvok, facing the stoic young man, meeting his eyes. "Who authorized your transport to the surface?"

"I authorized my own transport." said Icheb, taking a step closer. "Seven could be in danger!"

Kathryn whirled around to face him, meeped, and then whirled back. "What do you mean Seven could be in danger?"

"The planet that they are on is the home of a creature that the Tinvarii use as judge, jury, and executioner for thieves, murderers, and rapists." answered the young man. "The longer they are on that planet, the more likely that they will also become prey to the creature."

"Creature?" Again, the Captain whirled around. She slapped one arm over her breasts, the other reaching down to cover her groin. Icheb met her eyes, unbothered. She scowled. "Damnit, son, turn around!" she half-yelled.

"Captain?" Icheb's eyes widened and he spun around.

"It's not right for you to come down here and see your Captain naked." groused Kathryn.

"I assure you, Captain, that I find nothing offensive by the human body." said Icheb, taking on his adopted mother's at ease stance as he studied the silver staircase he now faced. "Or the Vulcan body, Lieutenant." he added.

"Be that as it may, you are a minor, and this is not appropriate behavior, Icheb." Kathryn struggled to keep her voice even. "Turn to the wall." When the boy followed her order, turning ninety degrees, she stalked behind him and up the steps. "I'm getting a robe. Once I have a robe, I will listen to you. Not a second before."

"Watch your step, Captain." Icheb said congenially, staring at the wall and the purple and green tapestry hanging there.

Kathryn cringed. "Icheb!"

When the door slid shut behind the Captain, Icheb turned to Tuvok. "Why-?"

"Humans do not like to be viewed naked." Tuvok said, cutting the boy off.

The young man scrunched his nose for a heartbeat or two. "The Captain has as pleasing a body as the next human, Lieutenant." he said, totally nonplussed. "Seven does not hold similar reservations."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment.

"Humans are strange creatures, are they not?" asked the boy, turning and beginning to slosh his way back to the steps.

The Lieutenant watched him, forcing his eyebrow back down into place. "Indeed."

 **XXX**

Chell tried not to look as irritated and nervous as he felt, standing at attention, eyes on the far wall, waiting. Beside him, Icheb was the epitome of calm and cool. The younger man stood as he always did without an ounce of emotion visible to the world around him. Chell rolled his eyes and grit his teeth, unable to hold back any longer. "Captain, don't you-"

Kathryn glanced up from her second cup of hot coffee since they had returned from the Tinvarii world. She was sure she would need at least two more to warm up from the cold temple, and at least two shots of whiskey in the last one to get over the awkwardness she felt every time she now looked at her pseudo-daughter's son. ' _Ugh.._ ' "I don't believe I gave you permission to speak, Crewman." she cut off the Bolian before he could get started again. "Coffee first- it's freezing in here."

Icheb scowled. "The ambient temperature of the room is-"

"Hush, Crewman." Kathryn took in the last swig of her coffee, and set the cup down on the desk with a satisfied sigh. "Now, one at a time, tell me why you two felt the need to bribe your way onto the planet, break planet-side protocol for away missions, and interrupt an important meeting between myself and the leaders of this colony-" She scowled at Icheb. "-Nude?" Both crewman began to speak at the same time, both voices impassioned in their own way. Chell wove his hands around as he spoke, inflecting his speech; Icheb stood fully to attention, speaking without looking at her directly. She waved them both into silence before pinching the bridge of her nose.

Tuvok, who had stood silently beside her desk, finally spoke. "Crewman Chell, as the more senior crewman, you may speak first."

"Thank you." Chell said in an exaggerated tone. "So I was serving the group Tal lead around earlier, and as they were enjoying the cheese tarts I made one of the Tinvarri started talking to me about the dilithium trade." He looked from Tuvok to the Captain as she ordered her third coffee. "And the planet we left Chakotay and B'Elanna on came up. The Tinvarri told me that the whole planet is a death trap- that's why it's just sitting there in space like the cherry on top of a sundae! We have to go back for them! Now!"

"You are basing this off of the speculative conversation you had with one Tinvarri?" Tuvok asked for clarification.

"No!" Chell scowled. "The whole group said the same thing. That planet is a death planet! They used it as a means to execute their worst criminals because everyone that sets foot on that planet dies!"

"Captain, Seven is-"

"Icheb." Kathryn cut him off again. Her own retort was cut off by a chime at the door. She glanced at Tuvok, and he crossed the Ready Room to answer the door.

Standing on the other side, was a tall, white-haired Tinvarri, dressed in a green pant suit with a purple lab coat. He stepped inside with regal posture, the bushy white mustache wiggling on his face as he licked his lips before speaking. "Captain Janeway, I presume." He offered her a little bow, coming to stand beside Icheb and Chell.

"Yes." Kathryn held out her hand in greeting, allowing him to give it a firm- if not curious- shake. "And you are?"

"I am Professor Menton." he answered. "I am the top biophysicist on Tinvari II. It was I who informed your... underlings.. of the Creature and the planet it resides on."

"Oh, I see." said the Captain. "Would you care to tell us what you told them?"

"Of course, Captain." said the professor, reaching up with both hands and holding the lapels of his lab coat. He straightened his back and prepared his speech. "Back several generations ago, as we were making our first long leaps and bounds off of our homeworld, we stumbled across the planet. It was rich in dilithium, mercurianium, and seven or eight other trace elements that we could use to power our ships, strengthen our hulls, and feed our people. Our Officials sent a complement of ten smaller ships with approximately twenty crewman each out to begin mining the planet. All was good and well that first trip. They loaded up the first five ships, and sent them back home, intending to quickly fill the last and follow them." He paused, dropping his hands to cross them over his belly. "They never made it."

"Professor?"

The older man smiled- or so it seemed behind the bushy mustache that hid his lips. "Space travel was still slow then without warp drives. It took a good month of waiting to realize that the last ships were not coming- that something must have gone wrong. When we recovered the ships many months later, there was no sign of any crewmen alive or dead anywhere on the planet. The ships themselves were destroyed- dismantled and broken, one burned so hot that the hull had melted away in places. There were no bodies, no skeletons to be found." He paused again with a sigh. "We later brought those ships back home in the cargo bay of our largest freighter- at that time, at least- to study them, but could gleam no valuable information from them. They were so damaged that all the logs were lost. It was as if our people had just disappeared. There was still a stock of food, water, and weapons on each ship, so we know they did not starve- and if they had, where were the bodies?"

"Did you scan the surface for your crewman?" Tuvok asked stoically.

"Our scanners were not as advanced then, and even now cannot map the entire planet. There are pockets of natural radiation the planet gives off that seem to move now and then over the surface. We found our ships. Nothing more. We sent another dozen ships again months later, this time with some of our best scientists, to study the planet and try to solve this mystery. They lasted a few weeks before the creature found them."

Kathryn perked up. "Creature?" She scowled. "What creature?"

"We don't know if it is indigenous to the planet, or if it was long ago lost there. We don't know if it is one or many. No one alive even knows what it really looks like. The only thing we do know about it is that it hunts. It will hunt you down, picking your group off one by one by one until it has you all, and no one is ever seen alive or dead afterwards." The professor looked from Kathryn to Tuvok and back. "Once upon a time, we used the threat of the planet as a means of punishing our murderers, rapists, and thieves- back when we were technologically advanced, yes, but not quite so civilized. We would drop a group of twenty down on the planet, and monitor them from above. No one lasted longer than a week."

"And you have no idea what happens to them once they are left on the planet?" asked Tuvok.

"No. Only what our scanners show- that they run, and hide, and then are gone."

"How do you know, then, that it is a creature?"

"A physical, tangible creature?" The professor's mustache wiggled again. "We cannot know. All we know is that there IS something down there. Something dangerous. Deadly. That is why we call the planet Decissis. It means 'death' in old high Tinvar. That planet, she hangs there in space, taunting us. It is a precious gem in a sea of nothing- attracting explorers to it like flies to honey- and then consuming them. If you left your people on that planet, they very likely are dead by now, Captain. I'm sorry."

"If this planet is as dangerous as you say it is, why are there no beacons or subspace transmissions set up to warn people from going there?!" Kathryn demanded, turning to begin pacing along the length of the room. She went to the replicator and punched in the code for another cup of coffee.

"You are in Tinvarii space, Captain." returned the professor. "No one else enters Tinvarii space that we are unaware of. There should not be any need for such warnings."

"Well, that may be something for your people to look into." Kathryn gestured for Tuvok to follow her. "With me." she said, leading him out to the bridge. The leaders in the temple would need to be contacted, the dignitaries returned, and the ship turned around. STAT.

 **XXX**

"Go fish." B'Elanna smirked at Harry, watching him grab yet another card from the pile with abject glee. "Your turn, Tom."

"Got any fours?" he asked.

"Nope." said the half Klingon. "Go fish."

Seven was comfortably slouched over on the bench, watching the three play with the deck of cards Tom had found stuck in the bin where the now broken boombox had been. Beside her, Chakotay was reading one of the last PADDs with power when he wasn't laughing at B'Elanna beating the pants off Tom and Harry. "What is the point of this fishing game?" she finally asked.

"To be the first one without any cards." answered B'Elanna, holding up her last three with a smile. "I'm down to three. How many do you have, Starfleet?"

The young ensign harrumphed. "Eleven..."

Their day had been spent in the confines of the shuttle. They had lounged around most of the morning, enjoying the air conditioning on the hot planet, only leaving the shuttle to make group trips to the bathroom. Lunch had come and gone, and now it was late afternoon. Outside, the sky was beginning to pinken on one side, and darken with rainclouds on the other. The inside of the aft was beginning to dim from the limited light allowed in by the propped open doors to the cockpit. As the shaft of light had slowly began moving across the aft, so too had B'Elanna, Tom, and Harry, scooting down so they could still see the numbers on their cards.

"I'm surprised you're awake, Sister." Tom commented, drawing a card from the pile with a frown. "You've slept away most of today."

"You have slept as well." returned the ex-drone. "I remember you draped over B'Elanna and Harry, snoring away not two hours ago."

"Oh, I have napped." agreed Tom with a smile, pointing Harry in the direction of the pile to take on yet another card. "But you've been cat-napping all day." He smirked at her. "Been up all night?"

"No." Seven shook her head, ignoring his point. "Making up for lost time."

"Making up for lost time with the volume of that snore." teased the pilot. He laughed at the scowl that drew across Seven's face.

"I do not snore."

"Why don't we move to the cockpit and play a real game?" asked Chakotay, powering off the PADD and laying it down beside him on the bench.

"Like what?" B'Elanna asked.

"How about some poker?" the commander suggested, reaching out and nudging Seven until she changed directions and leaned on his shoulder. "That's more interesting than Go Fish. Preschoolers play Go Fish."

"I was playing Poker in preschool." laughed Tom. "One of the only things my old man taught me." He shook his head as if to shake the memory away. "Anyway, we don't have any chips. We're lucky I found the cards."

"We don't need chips." said Chakotay. "We can use something else in their place..." His eyes landed on the canister of food. "We could use the berries... Snozzberries are worth one, blue strawberries are worth ten, and the green fruit are twenty-five."

Harry beamed. "Yeah, that would work!" He leaned over and pulled the canister to him.

"Just don't bruise all the food- we need it to last til breakfast." said B'Elanna, using Tom's shoulder to help her stand. He mocked wincing, then ducked her hand reaching out to swat him, both of them laughing at his antics.

"Grab the cards." said Harry, picking up the Go Fish pile while Tom gathered the rest, and both men carried them into the cockpit.

Tom paused at the doorway to the cockpit. "Well, would you look at that.."

"What?" asked B'Elanna.

"It's starting to sprinkle." answered Harry, pushing past Tom with the cards.

" _Vamos, mi amada._ " said Chakotay, standing. He waited for Seven to stand before moving into the cockpit, missing the slight wince as she put weight on her leg to follow him.

In the cockpit, B'Elanna had taken up residence on the edge of Seven's camp mattress while she watched Tom and Harry turn all the cards to face the same way before shuffling them. The windscreen above and around the cockpit was dotted with raindrops, several pooling together to make one fat drop and roll down the side of the shuttle. Chakotay squeezed back past Seven to get the lantern from the aft in case they needed it sooner than they thought. When he came back in, Seven was settled beside B'Elanna, and Tom was shuffling the cards while Harry watched the clouds rolling down from the mountains around the valley.

"Alright, let's get this game going." Tom said, going around the circle dealing cards.

Seven looked down at the card placed in front of her in dismay. "I do not know how to play this game."

Tom stopped shuffling. "Oh." he said uncertainly. "Well, uh, we can-"

"Here, I'll teach you." said Chakotay, handing his two cards back to Tom to be reshuffled. He sat down behind her, stretching his legs out on either side of her's, and looking over her shoulder. As Tom continued dealing, he reached around her and picked the cards up one by one. "Alright, now, the object of the game..." he began, lifting her hand up and fanning the cards in it so that they both could see.

"Is to win." B'Elanna supplied. "It's easy- place a bet, then hope you have a better hand than everyone else."

"Hand?" Seven raised her eyebrows, turning to look over at B'Elanna beside them in confusion.

"The cards in your hand- your hand." elaborated Harry. "It's okay- I'm not good at poker, so you won't be the worst one in the shuttle."

"Well, with me teaching her," said the commander with a smirk, "She will be beating the pants off of all you pretty quick."

"Is that so?" challenged Tom.

"Oh, it-" A loud clap of thunder cut Chakotay's boast off. The floor beneath them seemed to shudder with the sound. As all five faces turned to look out the windscreen, the skies opened up, and the rain began to beat down in earnest.

"Kahless, it's been so long since I've heard the sound of rain.." B'Elanna breathed, smiling as she watched the rain roll in rivulets down the windscreen. "Real rain- not just holographic rain." She looked over to Tom. "Let's go open the hatch."

"What? Why?" asked the pilot.

"So we can watch the rain- duh!" returned the half-Klingon. "Come on- we can play by the hatch while we watch the rain. We forgot to bring the canister of berries in here anyway." She mock-pouted at him.

Tom tried to look stern, but he couldn't resist the brown eyes staring at him so hopefully. "I'm down." he said. "Keep hold of your hands." He looked at Harry and Chakotay. "You guys okay with moving back?"

"Sure." said Harry.

The commander nodded, scooting back from Seven so he could stand up as they all began the move back into the darker aft. While the girls moved the bedding away from the hatch in case the rain blew inside, the boys unlocked and lowered it.

"With the overhang on the back of the flyer," B'Elanna said, leaning against Tom's side as she watched the rain picking up outside. "I could almost pretend I was at my _Abuela's_ house sitting on her front porch again." With the force of the rain rising outside, she had to raise her voice a little to be heard. "We used to watch the rain and drink _horchata_ together."

"Wow, it's really coming down." Tom muttered, watching the rain sheet down around the Flyer, running in a river across their campsite, drowning the firepit and washing the ash and kindling away. He glanced over at Chakotay. "Did you get up and dance while our backs were turned?" He chuckled. "Quick- someone tie his feet before he brings on a hurricane!"

Chakotay laughed. "Yeah, yeah, blame the indian." He sat down on the floor by the hatch, and gently pulled Seven to sit between his legs again with her handful of cards. With her back resting comfortably against his chest, he looked over the cards again, rearranging their order. "Last time I checked, B'Elanna was the only one around here called 'Chief'."

B'Elanna snorted, easing down next to the couple with a quiet grunt of effort, her rounded belly throwing off her balance. "They don't call me chief because I can do a mean rain dance."

Harry and Tom took up places beside B'Elanna, shuffling their own playing cards. Outside the open hatch, the rain continued to pour. Thunder rumbling loud enough to vibrate the shuttle walls accompanied bright streaks of lightning and wind that ripped leaves from the trees. The threat of the hatch needing to be closed before the water level rose enough to flow into the shuttle loomed over them as the rain rolled down into the crater they were in. Above them, the darker rainclouds were already blacking out the skies as the storm blew down from the mountains around them.

"Alright, guys," Tom began, fanning his cards with a playful flourish, "Jokers are wild. Who's going first?"

"What is a joker?" asked Seven, hiding a yawn behind her free hand.

"It's a card with a clown on it. It says Joker. You'll know it when you see it." answered Chakotay. "Since they are wild, they are the same as a number two card."

"Why are they the same as a number two card?" asked the blonde.

"Because they are wild." said Tom. "I'm going first. Starting at five snozzberries."

"I'm in." B'Elanna added her own handful to the pile Tom was starting on one of the canister lids.

Harry paused, his hand halfway to his mouth with the small berries. He swallowed the handful already in his mouth with a grimace. "Oh, crap," he mumbled. "I forgot we were betting with the berries.."

B'Elanna laughed, grabbing him another handful from the canister behind her. "Here. You owe the bank five."

"Okay, I'm in." he said, rolling the berries into the canister lid.

"We're in." said Chakotay, dropping a blue strawberry into the lid. "And raising you five."

"Oh, you are, are ya?" Tom raised an eyebrow with an amused smirk. "I'll take that bet.."

"Look at it out there.. The skies just opened up.." said Harry, holding his hand of cards against his chest to keep Tom from peeking while he watched the rain. "Think it will last a while?"

"I don't know." mumbled Tom, watching a piece of the broken shuttle bits float by the edge of the hatch door. "Oh look- that used to go to the replicator.."

B'Elanna pat his back in sympathy. "Yes, Baby, that used to be part of the replicator... and there goes a piece of the hull plating.."

The blonde man scowled, looking down at his cards. "This is depressing."

"Maybe we should rethink using the berries.." Chakotay mumbled, leaning his head over Seven's shoulder to look out the hatch, his hands dropping from holding her cards up to wrap his arms around her waist. He held in the satisfied smirk that threatened to bloom across his face when she sunk deeper into his embrace. "If it keeps up all night, it will be a mudslick hike to get more food tomorrow morning. We should substitute a few more ration bars."

"True." agreed B'Elanna, dropping her cards in the lid with the bet berries. "I have a crappy hand anyway." She leaned over Tom, looking at his hand before snatching it from his grip despite his protesting grunt. "So do you, Tom."

"But they didn't know that!" Tom grumbled, gesturing to Harry, Chakotay, and Seven. "You don't just yell out a guy's hand like that!"

"Look at that." Harry pointed down to the water slowly rising on the ground in front of the hatch. "You don't think it will flood, do you guys?"

"Oh shit." Tom blanched as the idea washed over him. After a second he shook his head. "Surely not- I mean, the water on either side of us isn't that deep, is it?"

"We are in a crater, but the valley goes deeper to the south." said Chakotay. "The trees around here- the ones we didn't fell- show no sign of routine floods. You'd see it in the bark."

"You sure you didn't start this rain, Chief Grey Temples?" teased Tom. "You seem to know an awful lot about it." Harry snorted so hard that it hurt, choking on his next breath before letting out a loud guffaw. B'Elanna chuckled more at Harry than at Tom's quip, moving back to make room for Chakotay to reach out and playfully thwack the young ensign's shoulder. "Don't choke, Harry."

Seven ignored them, soaking up the heat from Chakotay's body. She settled her cards down on his knee alongside her thigh, then held her hand out towards the rain pouring down off of the overhang just beyond her reach. She shifted to lean farther until her human hand made contact with the water sheeting down around them. When the back of her hand touched the water, she inhaled a short gasp. "It's cold." she commented softly.

Chakotay's hand reached out to join her's. He mock-shivered, shaking the water from his hand in Tom and Harry's direction. "Freezing!"

"When I was a kid, I would have loved to run through that." B'Elanna said a bit wistfully, lacing her fingers across her belly as she watched the skies pour. "I'd come back up to my _Abuela's_ porch soaked to the bone and carrying at least two bullfrogs. Once she would talk me into letting them go, she'd wrap me in a big towel and then make a pot of _horchata_.."

"My mother would never allow me to run in the rain." said Harry. "She always said that I would catch my death."

"I had a bicycle once, and I remember riding through the big mud puddles after a rainstorm like this." said Tom. "When we were planet-side, anyway."

"I.." Seven began quietly, enjoying the tingly feeling the cold water brought her hand, "I have never experienced this particular weather phenomenon before."

"You've never been in.." B'Elanna cut herself off. "Not many rainshowers on cubes, are there?"

"No."

 **XXX**

As soon as the doors had slid shut behind them and the lantern was set down, Chakotay pulled his grey shirt up and over his head, draping it over the back of the chair at tactical. He heard Seven yawn as she toed off her shoes by the door, and smiled at the soft happy sound she made as she laid out on the bedding. When he turned back towards the camp bed, she was laid out on her back, with her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, one hand folded over the bottom of her ribcage and the other pink human hand curled on the bedding beside her face. Her eyes were dark, making a slow trip down his form, but snapped back to his when he turned. A faint blush rosed her cheeks as he smirked.

He settled next to her, laying on his side and propping his head up with his hand to look down at her face. " _Hola, Bella_." he whispered, leaning over and pressing his lips against the corner of her's. She smiled, turning her head so that he kissed her fully. When he pulled back, he pecked a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"I like the sound that this rain produces." she murmured happily, turning her head enough to look at the black windscreen. "It is.. soothing." She turned away from him to look up at the windscreen over tactical. After a few seconds of him not following her, she turned and gave him a shy smile, one eyebrow raised.

The lantern was quickly clicked off before he scooted up behind her so that their bodies were flush. Groping around behind him, he yanked one of the silver blankets up and over them, reaching down to make sure that it covered them both. He laid back down before reaching around her, finding her hand, and lacing their fingers. His lips couldn't resist finding the sensitive patch of skin beneath her ear, smiling against the side of her neck when she let out the softest moan and her body melted against his. A happy hum vibrated up her throat as his hand released her's to slip up inside her shirt.

Back in the aft, the sound of B'Elanna and Harry laughing rang loudly into the cockpit. Tom's laughter quickly joined them. Chakotay eased his hand back out of Seven's shirt, turning to look at the door as if he expected one of the others to come through it. Beside him, she shifted, turning her body to face him, and cuddling up against his chest. "Tired." she whispered with a yawn.

"Doesn't sound like they are." chuckled Chakotay, reaching his arm over the small of her back as he turned away from the door.

"Are you?" she hummed.

"I'm getting there." he answered, reaching down and cupping her butt, pulling her tighter against him. Once there wasn't a hair's breadth of space between them, he kissed the top of her head. "That's better. Goodnight, _Querida._ "

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **Special thanks to: Scifiromance, tmtcltb, Alester Boneman, and my three guest reviewers for taking out the time to review me! You are appreciated!**

 **~LM**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes: Welcome to Chapter 11! We're like, halfway there, maybe? RATING CHANGE from T to M. You'll see why.** **I have so much fun writing this- I'm glad so many are enjoying reading it! Thanks again to Sci and Starshine for being my sounding boards and betas! Also, thank you to all my reviewers!**

 **~LM**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own it, DO manipulate it to my will...**

 **XXX**

It was the sound of trickling water that woke her. The rain was no longer pouring down by the bucketful. Instead, it fell in staccato patters on the windscreen, the sound quiet and gently lulling. If not for the pressure in her bladder, she would have easily slipped back into sleep. Her back was pressed into the camp mattress, Chakotay sleeping with his chest half over her's and his lips next to her ear. Every breath swirled across her ear, pulling goosebumps up along her neck and shoulder even as it drew beads of sweat up along her hairline. One arm was pinned under his neck, curled up with her fingers resting in his hair; she used her other one to push away the too-warm blanket covering her. The sudden rush of cooler air across the skin of her belly where her shirt had ridden up was a welcome sensation, pulling a sigh of relief from her lips. Even feeling slightly overheated, she was comfortable enough that it almost hurt her to gently prod Chakotay's side.

"Chakotay.. _älskling_.." She murmured, turning her head and kissing his lips. " _Querido.._ " Another kiss began to rouse him, his mouth suddenly responding to her own before he finally pulled back a little and opened his eyes.

"What do I have to do to get this kind of wake up call every morning?" he asked softly.

Seven smiled, her blue eyes bright. "I am sure I could think of a few things." she answered.

"Good." He leaned up to hover over her, letting cool air rush across their chests, looking down to watch her nipples pebble under her tshirt in the dim light of the sun rising behind the rain clouds. "I expect a report on my desk by next week." he teased before moving up to kiss her again.

"Yes, Commander." Her bladder twinged and she crossed her legs at the ankle as he peppered kisses along her jaw and then down to her collarbone through her tshirt.

"Commander?" he chuckled, the hand not supporting his weight over her moving down and inching the grey material up across her belly. "At ease, Crewman." he practically purred. His hand stopped just beneath the curve of her breast, glancing up to meet her eyes.

Seven hummed a sigh, arching her back beneath his hand in permission. He teased the fabric up to reveal one perfect milky-white globe, then brought his mouth down to lathe his tongue over the pink peak. Her breath caught in her throat, eyes slamming shut as he drew her flesh into his mouth. When she could breathe again, she groaned his name. Releasing her skin with a soft, wet pop, he leaned back up and kissed her lips, replacing his mouth with his hand. Just as he was about to return them, the sound of the midsection door sliding open threw ice water over the both of them. His hand yanked down her shirt and she turned towards the wall before the cockpit door also slid open.

"You guys up yet?" Harry asked, barely peeking into the cockpit. When he saw Seven and Chakotay were both dressed, he took a step inside.

"Yeah, we're up." Chakotay said, turning to look up at the ensign over his shoulder. "Time for breakfast?" Seven also turned enough to see Harry over her shoulder.

Harry smiled with a nod. "Yeah, after a bathroom break anyway."

Seven sat up first, adjusting her shirt down and pulling her knees up to her chest to hide the evidence of Chakotay's attention poking through it. Chakotay sighed before following her example. "We will be right there." he said to Harry. "Let me roll this bed up first."

"Oh, okay." Harry said awkwardly, backing out of the cockpit and letting the doors slide shut behind him.

Alone again, Chakotay turned back Seven with a wolfish grin. She blushed the faintest shade of pink, her lips barely curling into a smile as she made to stand up. He took hold of her hand before she could tuck her knees under her and pulled her shirt back up to her collarbones. Ignoring her gasp of surprise, he leaned in and ran a warm tongue over her other breast before placing a teasing kiss on her nipple. When he pulled back, he pecked a kiss on her cheek. "Wouldn't want this one to get jealous of its twin." he teased.

"Chakotay!" Seven smirked, glancing at the doorway where Harry had just left them before standing up. Chakotay only chuckled, standing up helping her roll away the bedding before following her down through the midsection and into the aft.

The sleep mats were already put away in the aft, the blankets folded up and laid on top to await nightfall. The canisters of water were by the door, and Tom was currently filling the canteens as B'Elanna held them so they wouldn't spill. Harry was unlocking one side of the hatch, the other side already unlocked. Chakotay walked past Tom and B'Elanna and helped Harry push the hatch open.

Outside was dusky as the sun tried to shine its rays through the clouds that still hung thick, heavy, and wet in the sky. The rain coming down in a gentle shower was cool, raising a gentle mist out of the ground around them. The bottom of the hatch was now sitting in three inches of standing water, as the whole back end of their crater had become one giant rain puddle. The water itself was clear while pocked with fallen leaves from the trees and random bits of wood splinter from the crash. The woods around them stood dark and ominous without the sun to light them, every shadow suspect.

Seven stared out the open hatch with a scrunched nose. B'Elanna joined her a few seconds later, her hands crossed beneath her belly as she eyed the treeline. " _baQa.._ " mumbled the half- Klingon. "I am not going in those woods to pee."

"No, you're not." agreed Tom, capping the lid on the water canister and following her line of sight. "Not alone, anyway."

"I'll accompany you." Seven offered, stepping out onto the hatch.

Chakotay reached out and took her hand, stopping her. "Not without me, you aren't." he mumbled, scanning the dark woods with squinted eyes.

"You're not going to the bathroom with me, Chakotay." said B'Elanna, looking at him like he had grown two heads.

"It's still dark out there." Tom said. "I'm going with you."

"What, no one is going to hold my hand?" Harry laughed, grabbing up the flashlights and handing them out.

"I mean, if you want me to..." teased Tom, strapping his flashlight to his wrist.

"We're going to get soaked." commented B'Elanna, flashlight on and ready. As a group they walked down the ramp and sloshed into the small pond that had been their campsite.

Seven gasped as the cold water ran down the back of her neck and into her tshirt, suppressing a shiver as she stopped and looked up into the sky. After the initial shock of cold had worn off, she found the soft drops landing on her face and arms to be a pleasant sensation. Raising her left hand, palm up, she watched the drops land on the silver metal, and roll down to drip from her arm. The sensors in her fingertips buzzed, sending the new sensation to her cortical node to be stored and processed later. A sharp throb began behind her right eye.

"Come on, Snugglebunny." B'Elanna said, reaching out and taking the silver-lined hand in her own, and tugging it after her towards where the boys were scouting just inside the treeline. "We can play in the rain later."

"I do not intend to play in the rain." returned Seven, smoothing back the damp hair from her braid that had come free and plastered itself to her forehead.

"Clear out here." Chakotay said, running his flashlight into the trees and turning away from the couple of trees he indicated to give the girls some privacy.

Seven was the first back out of the woods, walking up to the shuttle with her hands palm up in front of her to catch the rainwater. The throb behind her right eye dulled as she distracted herself with the cool liquid pooling in her hands. Leaning her head back, eyes closed, the cold rain soothed the ache and drew a pleased hum from her lips.

B'Elanna sidled up beside her with an amused smile, holding her own hands out in the rain. "How do you like your first rainstorm?" she asked.

"It is.." Seven paused, turning her face to look B'Elanna in the eye. "Interesting... but.." She winced with a particularly sharp pain, unable to stop her hands from coming up to fold over her forehead.

The half-Klingon's smile dropped. "Seven?"

"It is nothing, B'Elanna." Seven mumbled, bringing her hands down. "Just a glitch." She managed a convincing enough smile that B'Elanna dropped it, turning to look behind them as the three men came one by one out of the woods from their bathroom break.

"I'll tell you a glitch." said B'Elanna. "I had a dream last night that I didn't give birth to a baby Klingon-human hybrid. Instead, I had a litter of bald tika cats!"

Seven gave her a quizzical look. "...tika cats?"

B'Elanna nodded. "Better than targs, I'm sure. Targs have tusks." If anything, this statement made Seven look more confused. The engineer laughed.

"What's so funny?" asked Harry, sloshing his way back towards the covered hatch and the protection from the rain it provided.

"Just telling Seven about a dream I had." answered B'Elanna.

Tom, following Harry, stopped next to his wife. "The one about the tika cats?" When she nodded in confirmation, he leaned forward and planted a lingering kiss on her lips. "I'd raise a whole litter of tika cats as long as it was with you, _Be'nal_."

"Oh my god, I may puke." Harry teased.

"Shut up, Harry."

"I'd raise a litter of tika cats, but I'm not breastfeeding them." laughed B'Elanna, leaning into him as Tom slid his arm around her waist. "Those fang teeth... ouch!"

"What fang teeth?" Chakotay asked, walking up beside Seven and holding his arms out cupped in front of him to catch the rain.

"Tika cat fang teeth." answered Seven with a shake of her head, a slightly amused frown on her face. A light wind from the North began to blow, changing the direction and force of the rain. Seven shivered.

"Okay, inside." Chakotay said, ushering the others up the hatch. "The Doctor would never let us hear the end of it if we all have colds when we get back home."

 **XXX**

Kathryn strode onto the bridge with a more determined air than usual, immediately catching the eye of every officer in the room. At her chair, she paused only to turn to Tuvok as he retook his station from Ayala's capable hands. "Tuvok, I need you to call back everyone on the planet." She lightly scowled, reaching up and touching her com badge. "Captain Janeway to Ensign Celes."

" _*Celes, here, Captain.*_ "

"Celes, I need you to bring the group of dignitaries back to the transporter rooms. Something has come up, and we need to leave quickly."

" _*On our way now, Captain. Celes, out.*_ "

Sorted, Kathryn turned back to Ensign Culhane sitting at the conn. "Get ready to spin us around, Ensign." she told him, taking a seat on her chair. "We have a rescue mission to execute."

"Who are we rescuing, Captain?" Megan Delaney asked from her newly assigned station as backup opps.

Kathryn watched Icheb and Chell walk to the turbolift without a word, but the Tinvarii professor hung back. "Our away team, Ensign." she answered.

Professor Menton walked to stand beside the Captain's chair. "If you are willing, Captain," he began, tugging his lapels and rolling on the balls of his feet. "I would like to accompany you to the planet. It has been many years since I have witnessed Decissis for myself, and I wonder if your ship could conduct any more detailed scans than the last time I was able to." He looked down at her imploringly. " _If_ you would be willing, that is."

With a nod, Kathryn gestured for the professor to sit in Chakotay's chair while they waited. His knowledge of the planet itself and whatever 'beast' the Tinvarii believed to be on it would be highly valuable. "More than willing, professor." she said with a placating smile. "Why don't you tell me more about the planet and its history?"

"Certainly, Captain. It is believe, by my people, at least, that the planet itself was..."

Kathryn settled down in her chair, half listening to the professor's voice and half worrying about her people. The seasoned Captain didn't want to believe the away team was truly in such peril, but had learned over the years in the Delta Quadrant that it sometimes was better to play it safe than be sorry. She just hoped that if there really was a creature roaming around on that planet, that it hadn't found them yet.

 **XXX**

Harry reached his arms up above him as high as they would go, stretching out the kinks and popping his shoulder with a soft, satisfied groan. When he brought his hands back down, he used them to push himself up to stand. "Anyone else need a bathroom break?" he asked, glancing from where B'Elanna and Seven were laid out on the mattresses to where Tom and Chakotay were enjoying a match of War with the playing cards. "Any takers?" The day had passed by slowly, the rain having kept them indoors again. Save for the playing cards and the sleep mats, there had been little else to do.

"No, thanks." said B'Elanna, turning on her side to face Seven. "So, anyway, about the defect in the grid over the port nacelle..."

"Not me." said Tom. Chakotay shook his head, dropping an Ace on the pile of cards with a smirking grin. The blonde pilot spotted it and cursed.

"Okay then." said Harry, walking down the open hatch and staring into the rain. "I'm just going to walk around to the other side of the flyer then."

"Do you need a buddy?" Tom asked, a concerned look coming over his face as he watched Harry scanning the treeline. "It's starting to get dark."

"No, I'm just walking over here." Harry shrugged, gesturing to the side of the shuttle once he had strapped on his flashlight. "I'll be right back." The rain was still cold when he stepped into it, and he squinted as water immediately began to flow from his hair down to his eyes. With a shiver, he turned and walked along the port side of the Flyer until he was halfway up the ship. He started to reach down to unbutton his pants, but stopped and quickly scanned the treeline with his flashlight first. The dark woods were ominous, their presence oppressive. "...Nothing to be scared of." he mumbled to himself, undoing his button.

"Harry?"

The ensign jolted, startled, raising his flashlight beam up to the front of the shuttle and the blonde standing there. He let out a relieved breath, watching Seven take two steps towards the woods before stopping, her head turning as she followed the treeline. "Did you come out here to make sure I was okay?" he teased, turning away from her to quickly do his business and re-button his pants. "You shouldn't sneak up on a guy like that!"

"Harrry?" Seven said again, taking another two short, halting steps towards the dark woodline.

"Do you see something?" Harry asked, zipping his fly as he turned his flashlight to the trees. He couldn't see anything through the shadows his flashlight couldn't penetrate. "I'm finished. Let's go back inside. It's cold."

"There." Seven said, pointing ahead of her into the woods.

"What? Where?" Harry padded up closer, shining his light out. His eyes widened as Seven took another step towards the woods. "Hey, don't go in the woods- it's too dark!"

"There." Seven repeated, pointing again and taking another step.

"Seven!" Harry's voice was pleading. He really didn't want to go into the woods in the dark or have to talk down the overly-confidant ex-drone, either. Once she made her mind up, there was little changing it. He turned back towards the hatch-end of the shuttle to yell for Chakotay; maybe he could come reign in his girlfriend.

"Who are you talking to, Harry?" Tom asked, peaking his head around the side of the shuttle.

"Will you grab Chakotay? Seven's going in the woods!" Harry said exasperatedly, looking back over his shoulder at the blonde facing the woodline.

Tom scrunched his nose. "Seven isn't in the woods."

The younger man hissed out a sigh. "Well no, but she's about to be and she won't come back with me. Just grab Chako-"

Seven stuck her head out of the shuttle next to Tom. "Harry, what is wrong?"

With a look of complete uncomprehending shock, Harry's arm dropped to his side, illuminating his pants leg and foot. It took him two seconds to jump, spinning around and shining his light towards the woods. He just caught a wisp of blonde hair moving around the front of the shuttle before he let out a loud yell, scrambling back to the hatch. "Get in! Get in!"

Tom dodged out of Harry's way, pushing Seven with him. "What?! What's wrong?! What?!"

"Get in! It's out there!" Harry yelled, yanking up the edge of the hatch. "Hurry!"

Chakotay hopped up from the bench, quickly helping the two men to pull and lock the hatch shut. "What's out there?" he asked, glancing back to make sure that B'Elanna and Seven were both okay. Seven sunk back down beside B'Elanna, the two women sharing a worried look between them.

"I just walked over there-" Harry began, out of breath, "And.. and.. and Seven was by the nose of the Flyer.. and I thought she was.. just.." He paused, catching his breath enough to speak clearly. "I thought she came out to go to the bathroom herself or to be a lookout, and she started walking into the woods- and then she came out of the shuttle!"

"I was in here the entire time, Harry." said Seven, her brows drawn together. "I didn't come outside until Tom did."

"She was here by me." B'Elanna confirmed.

"You saw one of the dopplegangers." Chakotay said with a shudder. He glanced at Seven and then back to Harry. "Now do you believe us that we saw you wandering around like a lost puppy up in the woods?" Harry's head bobbed up and down, his mouth a tense line across his face.

"They're outside.. right now..?" B'Elanna curled a worried lip, looking up towards the closed door to the cockpit and the windows to the outside world in there.

"Outside is the important word." said Tom reassuringly. "The hatch can't be opened from the outside with it locked on the inside, and there's no getting through the windscreen without a photon torpedo. We're safe in here."

"Yeah. Safe." Harry muttered sardonically. "Sure."

Chakotay sighed, unable to feel much more confident than Harry acted. "It's known we were here for days now, and it hasn't done anything to truly hurt us yet. Surely it won't be more than four or five days until Voyager comes back for us. We are already halfway there."

"Just because it has yet to attack does not mean that it will not." said Seven quietly. "It may only be feeling us out.. looking for a weak spot."

"A chink in the armor." Harry nodded his agreement, plopping down on the far end of the bench. "How much food do we have left?"

"Half of a canister of fruit." said B'Elanna.

"And twelve ration bars." added Seven.

"Plus a box of those ration cracker things." Tom said, sitting back down and picking the playing cards up. "And a whole canister full of water, plus whatever is in the canteens."

"Well, good then." said Chakotay. "We won't have to go get more food if we are careful with what we have, and if we ration our water, we shouldn't need to leave the Flyer."

"Yeah, except for bathroom breaks." said B'Elanna. "You guys might can hold it for a while, but eight pounds of bouncing baby Klingon in here doesn't give me the same luxury."

"Well, hopefully they aren't somehow immune to phasers then." said Tom. "Otherwise, I suppose we can put the fruit on the biobed and set the empty canister in the lavatory for you."

"I am not peeing in a bucket."

"You will pee in the woods, but not in a bucket?"

B'Elanna scowled, crossing her arms. "Let's just burn that bridge when we cross it. _Kahless_."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, each individual similarly worrying about what the next four or five days would be like if they were unable to leave the shuttle until Voyager decided to swoop in and rescue them. Cut off and in the dark, all they could do was hope that they were found sooner rather than later. The Commander was the first to break the silence in the room, turning and heading up the three steps to the midsection. "Tom. Harry." He gestured for the men to follow, leading them up to the cockpit.

"Can you see them?" Harry asked quietly, peering into the dark room. The windscreens were as black as ink, plinking softly with the falling rain that was invisible in the darkness.

"Not yet." said Chakotay, "Shine your light out." He pointed to the flashlight still attached to Harry's wrist. With a nod, the younger man walked to the windscreen and tried to shine out the light. It's beams refracted on the raindrops streaming down and hitting the other side, but enough light went out to dimly illuminate a few yards in front of the shuttle. Just inside the woodline and out of the full illumination of the light, something black moved back, slinking deeper into the shadows.

"Okay, is this the part of the horror movie where we send Harry outside to confront the beast or-" Tom began, trying to put a lighter spin on the situation.

"You couldn't get me outside if you tried, Tom." Harry hissed, trying to follow the shadow in the woods, but there just wasn't enough light.

Back in the aft, B'Elanna watched the men go into the cockpit with a worried expression. "I think I'm going to wait until the baby is a year old before I go on any more away missions." she dead-panned, turning back to meet Seven's eyes.

Seven had her eyes shut, knees drawn up to her chest, and held her head in her hands- having waited for Chakotay to leave before giving in to the pain that came in spurts and waves behind her eyes. A small hand reached out and pat her back, making her jump in surprise. She hissed in a breath as the ache doubled with her heart rate, glancing through her parted fingers at an apologetic B'Elanna beside her. The blonde blew a long, cleansing breath out through her nose as the last pangs faded back to the dull throb that had become her baseline, and lifted her head.

"Want another shot of analgesic?" B'Elanna asked softly, giving Seven's back another pat and feeling sorry for the ex-drone. Seven's eyes turned back to the midsection door, gauging whether or not the men were likely to walk in on them, then nodded once. "Okay then." said B'Elanna. "Hand me that med kit over there." She gestured to the little silver box on the other side of the sleep mats.

Laying her legs out flat, Seven reached for the medkit and drew it into her lap before opening it. One metal-laced hand reached out to lift the hypospray out, but only the first three fingers curled at her command. With a scowl, Seven tried again to curl all five fingers around the hypospray, but her ring finger and her pinkie refused to obey. ' _Oh no.._ ' She scrambled back, the medkit flying out of her lap, spilling its contents across the floor.

"Seven?" B'Elanna deflected the metal box before it could hit her, turning wide eyes back to where Seven was against the bulkhead, her Borg hand cradled in her human hand. "What's wrong?!"

The blonde ex-drone pulled in a sharp, hyperventilating breath and released it in a soft, panicked whimper. "Nothing!" Seven half-hissed, concentrating on the numbed digits. How had she not noticed she had no feeling in them?

The half-Klingon raised her eyebrows. She hadn't seen Seven look that frightened since they had had their first run-in with species 8472 all those months and months ago. Pulling on all of her growing maternal instincts, she gently put a hand on Seven's knee as she crawled the three feet back to settle beside her. "Something is wrong." she said softly. "Tell me what it is."

As the ex-drone concentrated, the feeling of pins and needles began to blossom at the base of her hand, slowly bleeding up into the last two digits. "I.. my hand.." When the pins and needles dulled into a wispy tickle, she attempted a fist. Stiffly, the last two fingers obeyed her and curled in with the others. "It was.. numb." she scowled. "That is imprecise. There was no feeling. At all." She flexed her hand again. This time, all five fingers moved fluidly, and she let out a semi-relieved sigh.

"Oh." B'Elanna winced in sympathy. "Do you think it was related to your...?" A nod from Seven confirmed it. "What do you-"

Sliding open, the midsection door cut off B'Elanna's question and let Tom, Harry, and Chakotay back into the aft at the same time. Tom stretched his arms over his head to pop his shoulder. "Well, who is ready for some dinner? May as well eat and get it over with- this rain isn't stopping anytime soon."

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~LM**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello, and welcome to Chapter 12! We're moving right along now! PLEASE NOTE THE RATING CHANGE! Possibly NSFW... I guess it depends on how helicopter your boss and/or coworkers are.. Anyway, thank you SO MUCH to Starshine and Scifiromance for letting me bounce ideas and just generally bug the crap out of you. Love you guys!**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own them, never will.**

 **NOTE THE RATING CHANGE. Last warning.**

 **~LM**

 **XXX**

"Hey, guys..?" Tom stared down at the container lid in his hand and the fruit he had placed upon it. The confused expression on his face deepened as he reached down and lifted one of the little gold and green fruit.

"What?" Harry asked, taking a bite out of his ration cracker.

"We only had fifteen of these green fruit left," Tom explained, "So we would each have one for tonight, and two for tomorrow.."

"Okay," B'Elanna chuckled at the adorable expression on his face. "What's wrong with that?"

Tom looked up and met her eyes. "Well, I handed everyone one of these things... but there are only nine left." He held it out for the others to see where they sat around the small room.

"Who got seconds?" Chakotay asked, completely unconcerned, taking a bite of his fruit as he sat down on the long bench. Seven, settled on the same end, shook her head as she held out her one half-eaten piece.

"Not me." said Harry. B'Elanna and Chakotay both quickly chimed in their own denials as the tension in the room thickened. Along with it suddenly came the coppery smell of the other day as though whatever it was had been shoved into the HVAC system to be pumped into the Flyer. The stench wove its way around the compartment in a musky cloud of putrid odor.

"UGH!" B'Elanna spit her mouthful of fruit out, covering her nose and mouth to try and block the smell. "Where is that coming from?!"

"It reeks!" Harry's hand pinched his nose, his fruit falling, forgotten, to roll across the floor.

Seven tensed, sitting bolt upright. She reached out and grabbed Chakotay's forearm as her eyes scrolled across the people in the cabin with her. "Something is not right..." He followed her gaze, a chill running up his spine as he began to sense it, too. She spoke again, holding her finger out and pointing as she counted heads. "One, two, three, four, five.." She pointed to herself last. "..six." The look of blind shock on her face turned to confusion, and she quickly counted again. "There are six of us..."

"No, there's five." said Harry, quickly doing his own headcount, a finger held out to each person as he counted. "One, two, three, four, five.." He counted himself last. "Six? No, wait.. One, two, three, four, five, six.."

"That's not funny." B'Elanna glared at Harry, trying to keep her stomach from emptying at the strong smell in the room. She jabbed a finger out, pointing to each person as she counted. "One, two, three, four, five, si- what the hell?!" She jumped up from her seat on the floor, backing up against the wall. "One, two, three, four, five, six?"

"Tom, Chakotay, Harry, Seven, B'Elanna." Tom mimicked the others with his finger. "One, two, three, four, five.. six. What's going on?"

"Put your hands out." said Chakotay, holding his hand out in a fist in front of him. When the others complies, he reached out and touched each hand as he counted. "One, two, three, four, five.. six."

The scent of copper and musk in the room grew thicker, the air becoming heavy and clammy around them. Every set of eyes was wide, staring from face to face to face as the counting continued. Chakotay finally had enough. "Everyone outside!" The group of explorers poured from the hatch like blood from a wound, huddling together in the cold rain outside of the broken shuttle. The commander held his hand out, grabbing everyone else's in turn. "One, two, three, four, five." His wide eyes met Seven's. "You were the last out?" Seven nodded.

"How could that be?" asked B'Elanna, her voice edging towards panic.

"I don't know." answered Tom.

Chakotay set his jaw. "Tom, come with me- let's check the shuttle." He looked at Harry. "You three stay out here."

"Yes, sir." said Tom, following Chakotay inside. "Right behind you."

The smell was suddenly absent when they re-entered the dimly lit shuttle. The sleep mats and blankets were all still lined up against the wall, the leftover fruit was still on the floor where Tom had dropped it in his haste, and the door to the midsection and cockpit was shut tight. The single lantern hanging from the ceiling was slowly swaying back and forth, its shifting light casting alternating growing and shrinking shadows on the walls as it squeaked and squealed on its hook.

"This room is clear." said Chakotay, sweeping the perimeter with the light strapped to his wrist. He gestured for Tom to follow him to the doors to the midsection. "Come on." The cockpit was an inky black chasm beyond the midsection with no power lighting any of the consoles.

Nothing seemed amiss.

With so many clouds outside, the moon offered no light to the three standing together against the side of the shuttle. B'Elanna stepped closer to Seven and Harry to share body heat as the cold rain quickly soaked into their clothes.

"One, two, three." Harry whispered, pulling his crewmates closer to the hatch and keeping an eye out for the dopplegangers from before. "Seven, is there any way that we could explain why the numbers didn't add up?"

"Yeah, is there some Borg insight to whatever phenomena we were experiencing? Maybe our proximity to something?" B'Elanna murmured as she began to shiver, eyeing the woods in front of them.

The blonde shook her head, blue eyes scrolling across the tree line. "No. The Borg have never had to count heads- every drone is aware of every other drone through their link to the Collective." She met B'Elanna's eyes. "I do not-"

" ** _B'ELANNA!_** " Tom's voice rang out loud and clear from the treeline in front of them. " ** _B'ELANNA!_** "

" _VA!_ " B'Elanna hissed, grabbing Seven's arm. The blonde had jerked her head over to the right, her eyes searching the shadows were the sound had come from. "What the hell.." She dropped her hand down and grabbed Seven's metal-laced hand. "Do you see..?"

Seven squeezed B'Elanna's hand, shaking her head. "No."

" _ **B'ELANNA!**_ " the voice came again from the opposite direction.

The three shared a confused look, backing against the Flyer. Tom stuck his head out of the open hatch. "There's nothing in here." He moved aside, gesturing for the three to come back into the shuttle. "Come on."

"But we just heard you in the woods..." Harry said, completely baffled. "You were yelling B'Elanna's name."

Tom frowned. "I've been in here the whole time. It must be the.. whatever they are."

"It was your voice." Seven half-whispered, her eyes still trained on the woodline just past the small crater they were in. "There's something out there."

"I'm not standing out here any longer. I'm freezing and this is freaking me out!" B'Elanna released Seven's hand to slip past Tom, wringing her hair out as she went inside.

"Do you see anything?" Harry asked, reaching out and tugging Seven's arm towards the hatch. "Come on." The ex-drone shook her head, turning and walking past him up the hatch.

"You guys better get in here before you catch your death." Chakotay stuck his head out of the hatch. "Come inside and get warm."

"Coming." said Harry, following Seven back inside. He helped Tom and Chakotay to raise the heavy metal, and then lock it into place. Behind him, he could hear B'Elanna mumbling as she counted heads a half dozen times to make sure there were only five people in the shuttle. For a long moment, no one said anything, and no one moved, everyone silently scrolling their eyes from one person to the next as they counted heads. Shock, fear, and worry were read plainly on every face as each mind boggled over what had just occurred.

"Now what?" B'Elanna asked softly, her back pressed to the wall beside the long bench.

"I don't know." Tom said, his voice just as quiet, walking up and putting his arms around his wife. B'Elanna leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"If you say we go to bed, Chakotay, I swear to all that is holy.." Harry grumbled, shivering from the wet. Chakotay snorted humorlessly.

"I say we get out of these wet clothes." said the Commander, reaching out and taking Seven's cold human hand in his. He rubbed it between his larger hands to warm it, then urged her to the row of broken lockers. "Even with the HVAC, it's cold. Everybody strip."

"I love you guys, but I'm not changing in front of you." B'Elanna said quietly, her head turned to watch Chakotay and Seven where it rested against Tom's throat. "Seven and I can change in the cockpit." Seven shrugged, grabbing them both a pair of sweatpants from the bottom drawer.

In the cockpit, the two women quickly changed, each one warily glancing at the windscreens for any sign of a creature. In the aft, the three men dried off and regrouped, waiting on the girls before starting to plan out their last days.

"We have enough water to last us six days if we ration it." said Harry, counting the emergency water bottles in the broken lockers.

"We have HVAC- clean warm and cool air." said B'Elanna, leaning against Tom's side where they sat on the floor in a circle. "But no power for anything."

"We have enough food for tomorrow- for two days if we ration it out." said Chakotay, reaching behind him to the food canister, taking hold of the lip and tugging it to him. A surprised look flashed across his face as he whipped the canister around and dumped it over. Empty. " _Que mierda?!_ "

"Are you serious?!" B'Elanna hissed, sitting up and looking around the room for any sign of the food or another imposter.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me!" said Harry, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. "Again?!"

"The doppleganger must have taken it when they left." Seven said, running her fingers over her aching brow bone.

"So that we will have to leave the Flyer." Tom sighed.

Chakotay nodded, angrily setting the canister down behind him. "We will have to be more careful. No more separating, no more single-person bathroom breaks. The hatch stays closed while we are inside."

"We should sleep in shifts." offered Harry. "To keep a lookout."

"Good idea." nodded Chakotay. "Seven and I can take the first shift. Tom and Harry, you can have the second."

"I'm not planning on much sleep tonight, guys." said Tom. "Not after all this."

"We should try to keep our energy levels up." said Seven. "If we must venture out for food tomorrow, it would be prudent for us to be at least fully rested. We may need to run at the very least."

"True, but still.." Tom sighed again, shaking his head. "I just hope Voyager hurries up. We should only have, what- five days left?"

"Maybe six. Maybe seven." said Chakotay. "We should try to be as prepared as possible for that."

 **XXX**

Try as they might to stay awake, B'Elanna was down for the count not an hour later. Seven soon followed her, curled up against Chakotay's side. When Harry began to nod off next to B'Elanna, Tom and Chakotay finally called it quits.

"Here, come on, babe.." Tom whispered, waking B'Elanna enough to move her to the bedding she and Seven had been relaxed on earlier, covering her with her emergency blanket before going back to prod Harry into movement.

"I'll come get you in about four hours." Chakotay said to the blonde pilot, his voice hushed so the others wouldn't be disturbed.

"You want Seven to sleep by B'Elanna?" Tom asked, gesturing to his empty spot on B'Elanna's other side. "You and I can just go keep watch while they sleep."

"We wouldn't make it all night." returned the commander, standing up and then carefully scooping Seven up into his arms with a soft grunt. "Get some rest, Tom." Settling Seven in his arms, he carefully carried her up into the cockpit, surprised that she remained so deeply asleep.

He kicked the bedding by the wall so that it unrolled, then laid the blonde woman down upon it. After giving her sleeping lips a quick goodnight kiss, and covering her with one of the two blankets, he marched up to the pilot's chair to take his post. It would be a long four hours.

 **XMX**

The commander was sitting at tactical when she woke up, curled on her side on their sleepmats by the closed door. She couldn't remember having moved there. Perhaps he had carried her? The thought brought a slight smirk to her lips. Outside was dark but for the scant light from the moon. She could no longer hear rain beating down on the hull, and all that was visible through the windscreen was a thick swirling white fog. Silent, the night expertly hid the presence of whatever creatures haunted them. She was sure that they were watching them even how someway or another.

It was still cool but not cold. She pulled her blanket closer around her body anyway as she watched Chakotay staring off into the fog. Sometime in the night he had shed his blanket, and sat in the swivel chair in just the pair of grey sweatpants he had donned earlier. His hands hung limply off the ends of the chair's armrests, and his feet were crossed at the ankle on the dead console in front of him. Laying as she was, and with the scant light reflected through the fog, she could just make out the lines of his chest and abdomen, and the dips and curves of all the toned muscles in his boxer's arms.

"Aren't you cold?" She broke the silence a moment later, her concern for his well-being overriding her indulgent observance.

His whole body jerked in surprise, his eyes meeting her own as he brought his feet down to the floor. " _Querida?_ "

She sat up, stretching her arms out up over her head, working the kinks out, letting the blanket fall to pool at her waist, and ignoring the twinge in her hip. "Aren't you cold?"

The commander half smirked, showing dimples. "Come warm me up."

"I may." Her lips turned up into a smirk of her own. He chuckled, patting his lap in invitation. Her blanket was pushed away as she stood up and crossed the small space to his chair. He settled, leaned back, and she took her place in his lap, sinking happily against his warmth. A contented sigh breezed past his lips as he brought his arms together across her abdomen and turned his head to nuzzle his face into her soft hair.

The ex-Borg mirrored his happy sigh, bringing her arms up and looping them loosely around his neck behind her, gently tugging and playing with the short hair along his nape. The warm breath from his mouth raised goosebumps down her arms as his lips found their favorite place against her pulse. A soft grunt slipped past his lips as she knotted her hands in his hair to hold his head there. With his head immobile, his hands roamed, one sliding up inside her tshirt to run over one breast. The other hand went down to her hip, holding her body tight to his, his thumb drawing heavy circles over her hip bone.

" _Querido._ " she whispered, turning her head to face him and eagerly meeting his lips. He was smirking again as his mouth moved wetly against her's. Her back arched, pushing her chest against his roving hand, and her hips down against his. A startled groan wheezed out of him at her movements, his chest vibrating against her back. The hand on her hip tightened, and the thumb went still against the elastic of her grey sweatpants. His lips opened against her's, deepening the kiss as his hand slowly slipped inside her waistband.

With her heartbeat beginning to thud heavily in her chest, she wondered if he could feel it through the skin beneath her breast where his other hand lay. He gently nibbled on her bottom lip, interrupting her train of thought. Her waistband was up around his wrist now, the only thing separating his hand from her suddenly over-sensitized flesh was a pair of thin panties.

"Seven?" His lips moved back to her neck, teeth barely grazing over her smooth pale throat.

"Hmm?" she sighed breathlessly.

"Seven." His voice was more insistent, drawing her back to full attention. His fingertip dipped beneath the edge of her panties to let her know what he was asking permission for. She nodded once, her breath coming out in a sharp whoosh as his warm hand slid down against her warmer flesh. A little pressure from his wrist prompted her to part her legs so that they hung down on either side of his lap. He nearly moaned along with her as he gently slid one finger down along the wet slit between her legs, pressing harder as he moved back up until he found the tiny bundle of nerves hidden there. She sucked in a breath, jerking in surprise, and he froze. " _...esta bien, querida?_ " he whispered against her neck.

Her whole body was trembling in his lap, but she nodded. "Yes." she whispered back, trying to relax. "I've just.. never.." She was suddenly glad that he couldn't see the bright red blush that rose over her face- though she was sure he could feel the sudden temperature change on her throat. "I mean, I don't.."

"Do you want to stop?"

From what she could feel pressing firmly against the back of her thigh, she knew he didn't want to stop. "No." murmured the blonde after a few breaths. "Don't stop."

 **XXX**

She knew something was wrong the second she put weight on her leg. If not for the console beside her, she would have collapsed into a heap on the floor. Her fingers gripped the metal so hard that it groaned under the pressure. Biting her lip to hold in the whimper of pain she could feel bubbling up out of her chest, she gingerly tried to put a little weight onto her leg, testing the boundaries between feasible and not. After a few agonizing minutes, she managed to stand on her own, but the majority of her weight was on the leg that wasn't screaming at her. Limping the two steps to the midsection was like running a six-mile marathon with a hot knife stabbed into her hip.

She was afraid to run a self diagnostic test. The last thing she needed was a bum leg and a headache. But something was definitely wrong.

Two more footfalls brought her to the two steps that lead down to the aft from the midsection. She held tight to the rail, holding her weight on her arms, as she stared down at them. They may as well be miles deep for all her current ability to traverse them.

The others were milling about, preparing for the day. Tom and Harry were filling canteens with the remaining water for the trek they needed to make to the grove and river, pulling phasers out of storage for them all in case the creature decided to try his tricks again. B'Elanna was chatting away with Chakotay as he stacked the sleep mats to the side for her. They paid her little mind as she contemplated her next move. Borg superiority, arrogance, self-sufficiency be damned. She knew that if she attempted those two steps, she would fall flat on her face.

Finished with her meal preparation, B'Elanna was the first to notice her, giving her a concerned frown. "Seven?" She was up and standing at the base of the steps in a heartbeat. "Are you okay?"

She opened her mouth to say something- anything- but what could she say? Finally, blushing from her neck to the roots of her blonde hair, she shook her head.

Tom, having noticed them by then, came to stand beside his wife, catching the attention of Harry and Chakotay. "What's wrong, Sister?" he asked.

" _Querida?_ " Chakotay turned his concerned brown orbs up at her, drawing his brows together.

"It's my hip." she said quietly. "I cannot put any weight on it."

"Your hip?" Chakotay nudged his way in front of B'Elanna, an unspoken question of guilt in his eyes. "Did..?" He began, but cut himself off, not wanting to broadcast to the others what they had done the night before.

Seven shook her head. Though she was pleasantly sore in a few places, they had nothing to do with what was wrong now. "No. It's my hip implant."

"Need help down?" he asked. At her nod, he reached out and placed his hands on her waist, easily lifting her up and then setting her back down carefully beside the long bench, holding her in place and steady as she clutched his arms for support. This time, biting her lip did nothing to hold in the whimper of pain that the movement caused her.

Tom moved to retrieve the med kit by the mini biobed, pulling out the tricorder as Chakotay helped Seven to sit down on the long bench. "Okay, Harry.. Get out." he said, flipping open the medical tricorder.

"What?" The young man began to protest until he saw Chakotay and B'Elanna helping Seven shimmy her sweatpants down to expose her hip and thigh. "Okay, I'll be up here." He blushed as he scampered up to the cockpit to wait.

Seven leaned over to the side to give Tom access to her hip. The blonde man barely looked at her before he fumbled the tricorder in his hands with an audible gasp. "Holy shit, Seven." He hissed in a breath.

At his tone, she twisted to look herself, sending a jolt of agony through her body that brought tears to her eyes and edged her vision in black. She immediately sank back down on the bench, choking back the sob in her throat. "..What?" she managed to grind out. "What is it?"

The skin around the starburst on Seven's leg was red with fever. The line from Tom's field surgery incision- which should have been fully healed from the dermal regenerator- was an angry red line between two spokes of the starburst. The slight mottle left over from her Borg past was emphasized by a web of new black spindley lines streaking out from the implant like rotten spider veins.

B'Elanna gasped at the sight, looking up to meet Seven's wide, scared eyes as the blonde managed to twist enough to see what was wrong with her. "The nanoprobes.." B'Elanna said with a gulp. "They can't heal it, can they? They're too weak."

"Too weak?" Chakotay looked back and forth between the two women, his eyes as wide and frantic as their's. "What do you mean 'too weak'?"

"B'Elanna, don't-"

B'Elanna cut Seven off. "Seven, I'm sorry, but this is serious." She looked at Tom and Chakotay. "Her nanoprobes are dying. She hasn't regenerated in eight days because we have had no power, and it's catching up to her."

"Eight days?" Tom blanched. "Oh, God, I never even thought about you needing to regenerate. Why didn't you say something?"

"You told me that eating and sleeping would get you by!" Chakotay flew back and forth between guilt and anger. He should have remembered one of the biggest parts of her unique physiology- her need to regenerate. What kind of a boyfriend was he? She _had_ told him that eating and sleeping would carry her between regenerations- was that a lie?

"It will!" Seven cut in. "But apparently not indefinitely!"

"Hold still." Tom said, pulling the dermal regenerator out of the med kit. "Let's try this again." He ran it back over Seven's hip and the red incision line. After a few passes, the line healed again, and the black spider veins faded back to Seven's normal pale skin tone. When the redness was gone as well, he put away the regenerator and pulled out the tricorder. "Feel better?"

"Yes." Seven said, her relief evident in her voice. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." Tom said grimly, reading the tricorder's results. "I healed the incision line again, but the implant is still affected." He pressed in a new sequence. "And they will keep being affected until you can regenerate."

B'Elanna read the tricorder screen over his shoulder, turning her eyes back to Seven's again. "You're down to sixty-eight percent."

Seven grimaced, pulling her sweats back up now that her hip was at least temporarily functioning. "The rate of depletion has increased then." she said quietly.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Chakotay asked. His voice was low, his eyes troubled as he looked down at her.

She couldn't stand that look- like he felt guilty for what was happening to her, like he was at fault for it. She stood up with a slight wince at the sharp but not unbearable pain still in her malfunctioning hip implant, and slid past him to head up the stairs. "Would my having said anything fix the wiring in the Flyer?"

He grabbed her arm before she could get up the first step. "No, but-"

She shook him off with what strength she had left, hopping up the steps and stalking into the cockpit.

Harry looked up from his seat by opps, glad to see his friend up and walking- even if she did have an irritated look on her face. "Did Tom-"

Chakotay was right behind Seven, his usual calm mask slipping. "Harry, out!"

The younger man jumped at the tone of voice, unused to the hostility coming from the typically calm commander. Valuing his life, he slid past the two and back to the aft, closing the door to the midsection behind him.

"How long have you been sick?" he asked, following her to the helm, cornering her and giving her no means of escape. "Has your hip implant hurt the whole time we've been here?"

"No. It started a few days ago." she answered, arms crossed under her bust. She refused to look at him, turning and staring out of the windscreen.

"And you let me-" He cut himself off, reaching out and turning her back to face him. "Last night-"

"You didn't hurt me!" she said, her voice quiet so as not to be heard through the door, but insistent. She had zero regrets about the night before, and she sure as hell didn't want him to have any, either. "You did the opposite of hurting me."

"But I could have!" he returned. With a sigh, he calmed down a notch. "You should have told me."

"Would my telling you have changed anything?"

"Yes, I-"

"Then I'm glad I didn't tell you!"

"You would rather risk me hurting you than tell me so I can help you?" His eyes went from a stormy sea to an ocean calm. " _Querida_ , I don't want to hurt-"

"You can't help me! There isn't any power! And you didn't hurt me!"

"That's not the point!"

"Then what is the point because I feel like I am missing it!" she scowled.

Back came the storm clouds as he reached out and took her by the arms. "Damnit, Seven, the point is that if something is bothering you then I want to know about it!"

"Irrelevant." she ground out. "Why?"

He pulled her body flush to his, his arms letting go of her own to wrap around behind her waist. " _Por que, te amo!_ " he said, imploring chocolate brown meeting surprised electric blue. " _Te amo, Querida._ "

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **Thank you to all the people who take the time out of their day to review, favorite, and follow! You make my day!**

 **~LM**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes: Hi, and welcome to chapter 13! Truckin' right along now! We will get this thing finished within twenty chapters I think. :) Translations below. Thanks again to Scifiromance and Starshine for the idea bouncing and for letting me tell them a story! Love you girls!**

 **~LM**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own them, DO own this idea.**

 **XXX**

Back came the storm clouds as he reached out and took her by the arms. "Damnit, Seven, the point is that if something is bothering you then I want to know about it!"

"Irrelevant." she ground out. "Why?"

He pulled her body flush to his, his arms letting go of her own to wrap around behind her waist. " _Por que, te amo!_ " he said, imploring chocolate brown meeting surprised electric blue. " _Te amo, Querida_."

Seven was sure her eyebrows were making friends with her hairline even as a warm, tingly feeling made its way from her chest down to her toes. " _¿Me amas?_ " she whispered, disbelieving.

Chakotay nodded, pressing his lips to her's in a brief but loving kiss. " _Si, mi corazón. Te amo._ "

"But.." Her eyebrows drew back down into a confused expression. "But I am Bor-"

"Beautiful, intelligent, kind, wonderful.. but no longer Borg." he gently cut her off. "You know that part doesn't bother me." He pecked another kiss on her lips. "I love you. All of you. Don't you believe me?"

She nodded, her confused frown turning into a smile. "I believe you." she murmured. This time, she leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you, too."

"Damn right!" B'Elanna's voice sounded from behind the closed doors, followed by a thump and Harry's short surprised squeak as something hit the bulkhead near them.

Chakotay snorted, giving Seven another squeeze before pulling her with him to sit in the pilot's chair. "Now.. tell me about your nanoprobes. What's going on?"

She tensed in his lap, only relaxing slightly as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "I haven't regenerated since we left Voyager." she explained quietly. "Though eating and sleeping will apparently sustain me for a while between regenerations.. it isn't indefinite. My nanoprobes are losing power, and are being filtered out of my body."

"And without the nanoprobes.." Chakotay's voice was tense and serious, his hands becoming fists against her belly as he hugged her. "Then there's nothing to power your implants.. or heal your injuries, apparently." One hand moved to gently run over her injured hip.

"Correct." she mumbled. "Though I have white blood cells, the majority of my blood is made up of nanoprobes..." She sighed. "And there really isn't anything I can do until Voyager comes back for us."

"Hopefully, soon."

 **XXX**

As she stepped from the hatch to the now-dry soil, the twinge in her hip became a burn. Biting the inside of her cheek helped her to hide the fact that she was in pain, but only until B'Elanna caught sight of her and stopped with her hands on her hips. Seven scowled, turning to ignore her, but the half-Klingon grabbed her arm.

"You can't hike like this." said B'Elanna. "You're gonna crack a tooth gnashing your teeth like that."

"My teeth are reinforced with-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Borg stuff." B'Elanna said dismissively. "Look, I don't exactly feel like hiking, either, pregnant out to here and slow." She glanced at Chakotay and Harry as they scouted out the treeline ahead of the shuttle for everyone to take a bathroom break before they were to set out for the grove. Tom walked past them after the other two, having grabbed the empty canister and his canteen. "You and I could stay behind, lock the shuttle. That way when the boys come back we can hurry up and let them back in."

"Alright, this area is clear." Chakotay called out from the woodline. "Come on so we can go."

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" B'Elanna scowled, playfully shaking her fist his way. "Don't rush the pregnant Klingon!"

"I can outrun the pregnant Klingon." Chakotay pointed out playfully, crossing his arms and leaning against the tree beside him.

B'Elanna snorted. "I won't be pregnant forever, _Estúpido!_ " He raised an eyebrow at her insult, but didn't retort beyond a snort. Dismissing him, she turned back to Seven. "Do you really think either of us would do more than slow them down?" She crossed her arms, still looking displeased. "I hate to admit it, but we are liabilities."

"We should not split up." Seven reaffirmed Chakotay's earlier words. "It is not safe."

"It's not safe for either of us to be caught out there by whatever is messing with us in the woods either, Seven." B'Elanna released the ex-drone's arm and walked on into the treeline.

"Come on, _Corazón._ " Chakotay said, gesturing to the woods beside him.

Seven nodded, taking a handful of steps. Each footfall stabbed deeper into her hip implant, like there were sharp rocks crunching in her ball and socket joint. She suddenly doubted whether or not she could traverse the woods with the others, let alone squat to pee. Three steps from Chakotay she couldn't hide her pain any longer. Her hip clicked loudly, then refused to hold her up, making her stumble forward as she gasped with pain. Chakotay reached out, catching her before she could fall, supporting her weight.

"Seven?" Tom, having seen her stumble, was beside the two in heartbeat, concerned. Harry watched with raised eyebrows from his spot guarding the treeline so B'Elanna could use a tree.

"You're going to hurt yourself, Seven." Chakotay scolded gently, ignoring her irritated glower. "I'm serious."

"I don't need to be coddled." she grumbled, trying and failing to support her own weight as her cheeks began to burn.

"I'm not coddling you." argued Chakotay. "I just don't want you to hurt any worse than you already obviously do."

"It is fine." she hissed. The commander sighed, pretending to release her. Seven dug her fingers into the material of his grey shirt, eyes wide and half-panicked at the thought of falling and how much it would hurt to jar her already agonized hip. When his hands continued to bear her weight, but his face took on a slightly smug expression, she released one hand to smack his shoulder. "Chakotay!"

"You're staying here." he said, his voice firm and authoritative. Before she could retort, he swept her up into his arms and began to carry her back towards the shuttle.

"Put me down!" she hissed, squirming.

"Why? So you can fall again?!" he asked, stopping to readjust her weight. "Hold still or I'll throw you over my shoulder, Seven."

" _Vad?!_ " She squirmed again, pushing away from him. Her weakened nanoprobes refused to lend her any extra strength- she may as well have been an unruly toddler for all the results she got. " _Jävla helvete!_ Chakotay!"

"Last chance." he warned, walking ahead up the ramp before depositing her on the long bench.

"Chakotay!" She shot up on her good leg before he even fully released her, but he guided her back down to sit on the bench.

"You're staying here, crewman." he said. "That's an order!" He knelt down in front of her, his face softening again. "We won't be gone long. B'Elanna can stay with you, okay?"

She shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes. When he stood up to leave, he bent forward to kiss her forehead. She dodged away from him, curling her good leg up to her body and resting her head on her knee.

He sighed. "Alright then. Be mad. We will be back." he said, then turned and walked down the hatch.

Seven's face burned with embarrassment, and there was a definite prickling behind her eyes. It didn't help that her hip was burning on fire, throbbing along with her pulsepoint in tandem with the ache in her head. She couldn't stop the sniffle- she was falling apart. Literally.

B'Elanna and Harry came up the ramp a few minutes later, watching Chakotay and Tom slip into the woods towards the grove before turning their attention towards the sick blonde curled on the bench. The two standing shared a concerned look as they pulled the hatch shut and locked it.

Harry was the first to approach Seven, putting on his friendliest smile. "Are you-?"

"Leave me alone." Seven's voice was muffled by her arms.

"We were just concerned." said B'Elanna, crossing her arms, shifting her weight onto one hip.

"Please." amended Seven, turning her head in her arms so that she faced the wall. "Just leave me be."

Harry frowned, but nodded, reaching out and giving her shoulder a friendly pat. "Okay, Seven." When he stood up, B'Elanna followed him up into the cockpit, leaving the blonde by herself in the aft.

 **XXX**

* **CRACK** *

Tom looked back down to the ground as Chakotay cracked another fallen branch over his knees and slung the resulting sticks as hard as he could out into the woods while he pretended to not be angry. Perched on the bottom branch of the last big white tree, Tom had a bird's eye view and a ring-side seat to Chakotay's quiet temper flare.

* **CRACK** *

"If you keep making all that noise, you're just going to lead those things right to us, Chief." Tom said, trying to keep his voice from showing the annoyance he felt. Of course, his first good fight with B'Elanna had been a pretty big one, leaving a bad taste in his mouth for days... and he hadn't humiliated her in front of anyone when it happened. He would bet ten hours of holodeck privileges that this was the first time the two lovebirds had been so angry at each other. Seven was just as stubborn as B'Elanna- maybe even more so... and she hated being made to look or feel weak. Just the same, he was glad that B'Elanna would be staying behind with Seven and Harry in the locked shuttle where it was at least mostly safe.

"They're probably already watching us." Chakotay groused. "They've probably been watching us since the first night here!"

* **CRACK** *

"All the same, buddy... let's not piss them off while I'm stuck in a tree and you're killing imaginary nanoprobes down there."

Chakotay whipped around to glare up at him, opened his mouth to speak, then shut it and turned back. He tossed the broken sticks away, kicking the next big branch away from him. "I'm not killing anything."

"No but you wish you were." said Tom, dropping another handful of picked fruit into the open canister below his branch. "I get it. It sucks. But she's lasted this long.."

"She shouldn't have to just last." groused the commander, spinning back towards Tom and crossing his arms. "She shouldn't have to worry about it."

"Well, she does. That's part of her. You don't have to like it- hell, she doesn't like it. But you do have to accept it."

Chakotay snorted. "When did you become the ship's counselor?"

"When the unofficial ship's counselor needed a kick in the pants." returned Tom. "Look, buddy, I know you've been in a ton of relationships and all that jazz, but I'm going to bet this is the most serious one. When it's just a little light flirting, a fling or two in bed, you can forget there are things about the other person you don't like. Maybe she laughs funny or she doesn't have anything very interesting to say or whatever. You can gloss over it because it's just fun." He dropped down to the forest floor, landing in a crouch and standing up to brush his pants off. "But you can't do that with Seven. It's all or nothing."

"So the playboy has relationships figured out, huh?" A short guffaw broke past Chakotay's lips.

"Playboy is soon to be a family man." said Tom. "You lived with B'Elanna on the _ValJean_ as long as I've lived with her on Voyager. You know there are some personality traits she has that can be kind of.. abrasive." Chakotay snorted again. "But when you love them, you look past it."

"Yeah, but her having to regenerate isn't a personality trait. Personalities can be changed or behaviors altered." said Chakotay, lifting the second full canister and screwing on its lid. "She's always going to be chained to a damn alcove.. I hate that for her."

"But it's part of her."

"She didn't have to lie about it though!" Chakotay made a fist with his free hand, savagely kicking another branch out of the way. "She could have said at any time hey, Chakotay, I'm getting sick. But she didn't! She hid it from us. From me."

Tom clapped Chakotay's shoulder. "I don't think she kept it to herself because she doesn't trust you, though. Likely she didn't want to worry you." He began to lead the way back towards the path back to the shuttle. "We've all been high-strung and coiled tight since we got here. Why add more to it?"

"Because its life or death for her! If she had said something earlier maybe we could have figured something out- somehow to fix-"

* **CRACK** *

Tom sighed, feeling bad for the tree branches in Chakotay's path. "Fix what?"

"Shhhh. Shut up, Tom." Chakotay hissed, reaching out and grabbing Tom's shoulder to stop him.

"Wha-"

"Shh!" Chakotay pointed out into the woods to the right of them. "Listen."

* **CRACK** *

"Fuck..." Tom whispered, hitching the canister higher on his shoulder. His free hand went to his phaser.

* **CRACK** *

"Let's go... You watch the front, and I'll keep an eye back here..." Chakotay whispered, pulling his phaser from his belt and holding it. "Maybe it's just fucking with us."

* **CRACK** *

"I hope." Tom whispered back, stepping forward. He hoped B'Elanna was okay.

 **XXX**

"How long do you think it has been?" Harry asked, looking up from the random piece of wire he had tied and untied into a knot seventy-three times. B'Elanna, sitting at the helm with her legs propped up on the console and her shirt pulled up to see the smooth, rounded skin of her belly, shrugged. A little bump moved along the top of her stomach, visible, as a little foot or elbow made a sweeping pass across its ever-tightening living space. Harry scrunched his nose. "That thing is going to burst out of your chest!"

B'Elanna snorted. "Would probably hurt less." she commented, pulling her shirt back down. "Um... I don't know.. I think maybe a half hour? Forty-five minutes?"

"Do you think Seven is still mad?"

The half-Klingon shrugged, turning her head to look down at Harry's seat by the sleep mats. "Don't know. Maybe we should check on her, though."

"Yeah." agreed the young man, dropping his piece of wire to climb to his feet.

The aft was dark when they went down the steps, the lantern left off and no windows to let the natural light in. Harry was blind as he groped for the light hanging somewhere in the middle of the room. Finding it, he switched it on.

Seven was still curled up on the bench as they had left her- the leg attached to her injured hip laid out along the bench and the other leg pulled up to her belly. Her arms were loosely looped around her knee, her head resting atop them and facing the wall. B'Elanna walked up to her, reaching out and putting her hand on the ex-drone's shoulder.

"Wake up, Seven." she said light-heartedly. "You're gonna have a crick in your neck sleeping like this." When the blonde didn't react, she gave her a little shake. "Seven, wake up." The half-Klingon scowled, shaking harder. "Seven? Seven of Nine!"

The blonde's head lolled to the side, the jostling enough to loosen her arms from their hold around her leg. The shift in weight started to carry her over the edge of the bench, but Harry quickly braced her back up. B'Elanna grabbed Seven's head, turning her face to look up at her. Black lines like mascara had dried into tracks down the blonde's face, her eyes shut as if asleep, mouth slightly parted enough to show the white of two front teeth.

"Seven?" B'Elanna pat the blonde's cheek, then pulled her hand back. "Harry, she's burning up!" She nudged him out of the way, holding Seven in place with her body. "Get the tricorder." Harry nodded, going to the far wall to get the med kit. B'Elanna pat the young woman's cheek again. "Seven, hon, hey... Seven, come on, Snugglebun... _Despierta, chica_!"

"Here." Harry said, flipping open the tricorder and running the scanner over Seven's non-responsive body as it beeped and trilled its results. He held the screen up for B'Elanna to see. "Her pulse is weak." he said, "And she has a one hundred and three degree fever."

" _Mierda._ " B'Elanna hissed, pulling the unconscious blonde back up to a sitting position. "We have to get her cooled down. Help me."

"Help you what?" Harry asked, shoving the tricorder in his pocket.

"Help me carry her up to the cockpit so we can see what the hell we're doing for one thing." said B'Elanna, hooking her arms under Seven's armpits. Harry took hold of the blonde's feet, and together they stumbled back up the steps, through the midsection, and into the cockpit. "On their bed." B'Elanna huffed, setting Seven down as gently as she could.

"What do we do?" Harry asked, arranging Seven's legs on the sleep mat.

"Take her shoes and socks off." instructed B'Elanna. "And we should probably take off these sweat pants. We have to cool her down- fast."

"We can pour water over her." suggested Harry, reaching out and grabbing his canteen nearby. "And make rags with a shirt or something." He scratched his head. "There's another pair of these sweatpants in the locker."

"Go grab it." said B'Elanna, scrunching Seven's shirt up over her bellybutton with one hand, and fanning the younger woman's face with the other. "Hurry." Harry was gone and back in heartbeats, ripping the sweats into strips and handing them to B'Elanna who soaked them in water before plastering them to Seven's flushed skin. Harry grabbed a broken piece of wall panel, and used it to fan the bedding, cooling down the rags. B'Elanna took the last rag and used it to gently clean the black lines from Seven's face before laying the wet rag over her forehead. "I hope Tom and Chakotay come back soon.."

"That black stuff.." Harry asked, grunting with exertion, "Is that..?"

"Nanoprobes." supplied B'Elanna, feeling along Seven's bare ribs. "She's not cooling down."

"Give her a shot of antipyretics."

"Good idea, Starfleet." The medkit for the cockpit was where it had been left days ago, and B'Elanna fished out the little hypospray from it. The dose was quickly dialed in, and injected into Seven's neck. "Now, we wait."

"Tom and Chakotay better hurry." huffed Harry, switching his hold around on the panel to alleviate the fatigue already building in his arms.

"They should be back in a-"

* **CRACK** *

B'Elanna startled, a surprised screech barking out of her mouth. Harry fumbled the panel, dropping it on his toe.

* **CRACK** *

Something heavy hit the side of the shuttle near the hatch, ringing the hull like a church bell.

* **CRACK** *

"What is that?!" Harry climbed over the broken tactical console to peer out of the windscreen. Though he could hear the sound, there was nothing to be seen. He crossed to the other side.

* **CRACK** *

Nothing.

* **CRACK** *

"Leave it- it isn't Tom or Chakotay." B'Elanna said, running the tricorder's scanner back over Seven's torso. "Down to one-oh-two-point-seven now." She held the panel back out to Harry. "Keep going- it's working."

* **CRACK** *

"I wish Tom and Chakotay would hurry." said Harry.

* **CRACK** *

"I just hope they're okay." said B'Elanna, pouring a little water over the rag on Seven's forehead.

* **CRACK** *

"Surely they are." Harry was quick to say, nearly faltering with the panel again.

* **CRACK** *

"I hope that isn't the hatch buckling..."

* **CRACK** *

"Sounds more like trees breaking..."

* **CRACK** *

"Trees?"

* **CRA-** *

B'Elanna and Harry froze, meeting each other's eyes as the sounds abruptly stopped and silence fell on them so heavily they could hear their own heartbeats in their chests. Their eyes were drawn to the windscreens, necks craning to see the woods.

* **BANG, BANG, BANG** *

"Open up!" Tom's voice yelled out by the hatch.

B'Elanna screamed. " _KAHLESS ON A CRUTCH!_ "

Harry tossed the panel and ran back to the hatch. If the creature was out there, Chakotay and Tom were in danger. He quickly spun open the lock on the right side, then started on the left before pausing. If the creature could mimic their voices perfectly enough that he thought one of them was Seven the night before..

"Who's there?" Harry called out.

"Who's..? Who the hell do you think it is, Harry? The Easter Bunny?!" Tom banged on the hull again. "Let us in!"

"How do I know it's you?" Harry asked.

"Who else would it be, Harry?" Chakotay's voice was just as irritated as Tom's had been.

"The creature!" Harry answered. "They can mimic us perfectly- even down to how we look and walk and speak! The creature was throwing shit at the shuttle not two minutes ago- I know it is out there somewhere! This could be it trying to get inside with us again!"

"It _WHAT?!_ " Tom yelled. "Open the hatch!"

"No- prove you are Tom and Chakotay!"

"How in the hell do you want us to do that?!" Chakotay asked.

Harry bit his lip, nervous sweat beading his brow as his eyes moved back and forth from one lock to the other. "Tell me something only you would know. Something that the creature wouldn't know to say."

"Oh for fuck's sake.." Tom kicked the side of the hatch. "Fine, you play the clarinet- you have camo pajamas with little bows and arrows on them- you like the wrong Delaney sister- you're about to have a fist-sized hole in your stomach. _OPEN THE DOOR, HARRY!_ "

"Not good enough!"

Chakotay grit his teeth. "Okay, Seven told you in the mess hall to take your clothes off so you could copulate while you were building astrometrics."

Beside him, Tom's jaw dropped. He looked at Chakotay like the man had grown seven heads. "..what?!"

In front of them, the hatch clicked and began to lower. The two men scrambled inside with their canisters, pulling the hatch shut before it was halfway open, and turning the lock. Chakotay set his canister down on the long bench.

"Dude." Harry said, looking at Chakotay like a man betrayed.

The older man gave him a non-plussed look, shrugging. "You said to say something no one else knew."

"No, I said something the creature wouldn't know!"

Tom set his canister down before rounding on Harry. "How come you never told me that Seven made a move on you?!" he asked incredulously.

"Because she really didn't." answered Harry.

"But she told you to take off your clothes?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well, did you?"

"What?! No!"

"Why not?!"

B'Elanna stuck her head into the aft. "If you are quite finished, Seven is in a bad way up here."

Chakotay's eyebrows shot up, and he hurried up past B'Elanna. He dropped down to his knees beside Seven's still form, internally freaking out even as externally he simply put a hand out to cup her face. "Seven?" She didn't react to his voice. Tom was in the room seconds later, taking the tricorder B'Elanna offered him and slipping easily into medic mode. Harry brought up the rear, watching nervously with B'Elanna.

"She's got a hundred and two-point-one fever." Tom read off, concentrating the scanner over the ex-drone's head. "...hundred and two... one-oh-one-nine..." He glanced over at B'Elanna. "Did you give her anything?"

"Antipyretics."

"How much?"

B'Elanna chewed her lip. "I'm not sure. A lot."

"Well, her fever is going down. Her implants are the same. Functioning, for now." He put the tricorder back down, settling at the edge of the bedding. "All we can do is just try to keep her cool until the fever passes."

 **XXX**

"Cold." A semi-conscious Seven murmured, shivering as she was curled up in a ball on the bedding.

The room sprung into action, the four others occupying it quickly abandoning their plates of fruit to crowd around the awakening ex-drone.

" _Querida._ " Chakotay cupped the blonde's cheek with his hand, gently turning her head up to see her face. " _Querida, mírame._ " Pale blue eyes blinked halfway open, focusing on his face for a few seconds before sliding shut again.

Tom had the tricorder out and scanning. "Her temperature is dropping." Tom said, reading the medical tricorder's little screen. "Down to ninety-six-point-two." He ran the tricorder's scanner along Seven's temple. "We gotta warm her up."

"We just cooled her down!" said Harry incredulously.

"You did too good of a job." returned Tom. He glanced at Chakotay. "She could use some body heat, Chief."

Next to him, Chakotay nodded and pulled his shirt over his head before settling down on the bedding behind Seven. He pulled her shirt up in the back, and then pulled her cooler body against his to share heat. "What if this doesn't work?" he asked Tom.

"Then.." Tom pursed his lips. "..I'm not sure."

"Here." B'Elanna said softly, scooting Tom out of the way enough to shimmy down in front of the ex-drone. "Pull your shirt up, Snugglebunny." she said to her, pressing her rounded stomach against Seven's much cooler one.

"That's good." Tom said, reading his tricorder. "She's at ninety-six-point four.. point five.."

"..Th-thank you." Seven mumbled, still shivering. She felt too weak to open her eyes, her mind foggy and sluggish. The pain in her hip implant started to ebb away, the limb feeling colder than the rest of her body. Her left hand and forearm were tingly where they rested curled by her face on the bedding. She frowned. "..Numb."

"Numb?" Chakotay leaned up enough to look down at her, using a gentle hand to turn her head up to look at him. She barely slid her eyes open for a second or two before letting them shut. " _¿Qué es entumecido?_ " he asked.

Seven sighed, the woozy feeling making the room spin. ".. _¿entumecido?_ "

"Seven, wake up." B'Elanna pat the blonde's cheek.

"Awake." Seven scrunched her nose. "Implant numb."

"Which implant?" Tom asked, running the scanner down to her hip.

Seven frowned, lifting her left arm at the shoulder. Below the elbow hung like dead weight. Trying to clench her fist didn't work- the limb refused to obey her commands. "Hand." Her eyes popped open, a rush of adrenaline bringing her more alert and giving a bit of strength to her muscles. She squirmed against Chakotay's arm around her waist. B'Elanna scooted back as Seven sprung up from the bedding to lean heavily against the bulkhead, cradling her unresponsive hand to her chest.

"What's wrong?" Chakotay asked, jumping up after her. Rubbing her human hand over her metal-laced fingers and the speeding up of her panicked heartbeat began to bring the feeling back. Chakotay gently pulled her Borg hand into his own, rubbing the cold fingers in between his own until it felt warm again. Seven flexed the fingers, the feeling returning with the warmth. "Better, _mi vida_?"

"Yes." she answered. Crisis partially averted, the kick of adrenaline turned off in her brain, and the still functioning bits of nanoprobes in her bloodstream quickly carried it away. The sluggish feeling came back in full force, accompanied by a dizzying lightheadedness. She vaguely heard Tom call out for Chakotay to catch.. something.. and then everything went black.

* * *

"Shit!" Chakotay cursed, throwing his arms around Seven's middle as she slumped forward and gently easing her back down to the bedding. He laid her out on her back, turning her head so that her airway was clear. Tom ran the tricorder over her again while B'Elanna and Harry backed out of the way.

"She just passed out." Tom finally said. "She's still cold, though."

"Oh God." Harry muttered, running a nervous hand through his hair as he watched Seven's still form. "What if the Borg part of her dies?" he asked with a gulp. "Is there enough human to.. to compensate?"

"She's not gonna die, Harry!" B'Elanna nearly screeched.

"I didn't say she was!" Harry returned angrily, drawing his brows together. "But how long are we going to be stuck here until the Captain finds us? There's nothing we can do without her alcove thing except sit here!"

"I don't know when the Captain will come for us!" the half Klingon hissed, scrambling to her feet and headed for the aft. "But I'm not just sitting here."

"What?" Tom got up to go after her, but Seven let out a soft groan. The doctor in him pulled, and he turned back to continue his scans. "Where are you going?" he called after B'Elanna.

"To see about her damn regeneration unit!" B'Elanna yelled back.

Chakotay and Harry perked up, the latter of which hopped up to follow- and hopefully- assist.

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **Translations:**

 **"Because I love you! I love you, Sweetheart."- Chakotay to Seven.**

 **"You love me?"- Seven to Chakotay.**

 **"Yes, my heart. I love you."- Chakotay to Seven.**

 **"Jerk."- B'Elanna to Chakotay.**

 **"What?! Fucking hell!"- Seven to Chakotay.**

 **"Wake up, girl!"- B'Elanna to Seven.**

 **"What is numb?"- Chakotay to Seven.**

 **"Numb?"- Seven to Chakotay.**

 **"Better, my life?"- Chakotay to Seven.**

 **Special thanks to all my reviewers! MUAH!**

 **~LM**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Notes: Welcome to chapter 14! We're getting closer and closer to the end! It's a bit bittersweet, really, but exciting at the same time! Thank you to everyone who stuck with me through all the chapters, and thank you so much to all my lovely reviewers! A special thanks to Scifiromance and Starshine, of course! They keep me on track and working!**

 **If you haven't yet, be sure to check out Scifiromance's fic 'Soft Focus'! She just added a new chapter and it is hilarious! C/7 at its finest! (The world needs more of it.)**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own it, never will, yadda yadda yadda...**

 **~LM**

 **XXX**

The room was spinning- a circling cyclone of grey and blue and brown and yellow and black. The swimming colors hurt to look at for too long, throwing off her equilibrium, tricking her still body into perceiving motion. Bobbing and swirling and tumbling and floundering. Her stomach rolled; her eyes watered. A shiver began at the top of her head and worked its way down her frozen body. There was sound nearby- so close but so far away. Mumbled conversations wove hellish patterns across her mind. She couldn't make out the words, so her mind painted them in. " _Die, Borg!_ " one said. " _Weak!_ " said another. " _Imperfect! Imperfect!_ " chimed a third. " _Impure.._ "

B'Elanna's sensitive ears were the first to catch the sound- a quiet, distressed whimper. She turned her head back to look behind her. Seven was shivering on the bedding, greyish tears streaming from her eyes across the bridge of her nose and down the side of her face to stain the balled up blanket-turned-pillow below. B'Elanna set her plate down, scooting back onto the bedding and putting a warm hand on Seven's face. "Hey, Seven, are you awake?"

Chakotay perked up from his seat at the helm. "Is she up?" he asked, crossing the room to the bed. He plopped down on the bedding beside B'Elanna. " _Querida?_ "

"Scoot, babe." Tom gently moved around B'Elanna to run the scanner over Seven's form. "Temperature is getting too high again. She's back up to a hundred point two."

"Wish her mind would make up its.. mind." Harry said, watching the ex-drone writhe on the bedding.

"Chakotay." Seven whimpered. "Cold."

" _Hola, Querida._ " Chakotay said soothingly, smoothing her loosened hair back out of her face. "How do you feel?"

" _..mal._ " she mumbled, blinking her eyes open through the grey film of nanoprobe-rich tears. "..sick.." Her human hand snaked up, grabbing his wrist and weakly tugging it. " _..soy frío._ " She pulled his arm over her side, curling her body tighter until her knees almost touched her chin.

"I know you feel cold, Sister," Tom said, pulling the rags B'Elanna and Harry had made earlier down from their spot on the dead console. "But you're too hot. We have to cool you off."

The blonde woman's eyes widened. "No!" she sluggishly shook her head. "Too cold!"

"Snugglebunny, you're too hot." B'Elanna said, taking some of the rags.

"No, Snugglebunny is not." returned the ex-drone, changing from hugging Chakotay's arm for warmth to trying to wriggle away.

Harry joined them, bringing a canteen of cool water. He poured a little out on the rags in B'Elanna's hands. "Here, Tom." he said, handing him the canteen.

"Hold still, _Querida_." Chakotay said, gently pulling her back towards him. "We have to get your fever down."

" _Sluta.._ " she half-whimpered. The room was starting to spin again, squeezing her stomach tighter and tighter with each rotation. She gagged.

"Hold her." said B'Elanna, taking one cool, wet cloth, and shoving it under Seven's shirt against her overheated ribs.

The blonde woman squeaked, twisting. " _Jävel!_ " she whimpered. Another rag found the other side of her ribs, then one on her neck and against the metal strip that wound around her torso. She hissed, shivering harder with each cool touch. " _Rör mig inte!_ "

"Seven, _Corazón_ , you'll feel better in a minute." Chakotay said soothingly. Seven only whimpered, curling up in a ball again. The commander winced in sympathy, looking to Tom to see if he had any ideas on what to do. Tom had the same pitying look on his face, holding out more cool, wet rags for B'Elanna to pack against the sick woman's fevered skin. He met Chakotay's eyes and offered him a sympathetic smile. Harry put the canteen up and lifted the spare panel cover again, beginning to fan it over Seven's form.

" _Helvete.._ " hissed Seven. "No!"

"I've never seen her act like this before." Harry said softly, slowing the fanning down in sympathy.

"I think she's a little delirious." said Tom. "From the fever.. and from everything else."

Chakotay ran his warm hand down Seven's face, his thumb outlining the silver arch over her eye, as her teeth began to chatter. "Seven?" he asked after a few minutes.

"..what?" came the whimpered response. Quivering lips began to quickly fade from dusky pink to lavender. "Too.. cold.. Please, Chakotay.."

"Stop!" said the commander to Harry, grabbing the panel mid-swing to halt its motion. "Her lips are turning blue."

"What?" Tom reached out, feeling the blonde woman's forehead. It was cold as ice. He pulled out the scanner of the tricorder, running it over Seven's body. "What the hell?"

"What?" asked B'Elanna, grabbing his arm and turning the tricorder so she could also see. "How in Grethor is she already cold again? Ten minutes ago she had a fever!"

"How can that be?" Chakotay asked, ripping the cold rags off of Seven. He pushed the backs of his fingers against her cold cheek, surprised at the rapid change of temperature.

"Her cortical array." answered Tom, concentrating his scanner over Seven's forehead. "It's having trouble holding her temp steady."

"So we get to play hot potato with her from now on?" Harry asked with wide eyes.

"She can't regulate her body temperature anymore." continued the blonde medic, ignoring Harry. "Someone will have to share their own heat with her. Maybe if we can help her regulate it that way it will take some pressure off her array. One less thing it has to struggle to do."

"Are you sure it works that way?" asked B'Elanna.

"Honestly, no." answered Tom. "But it's all we can do. She has to be monitored either way."

Chakotay nodded, pulling his shirt back up over his head and crawling over Seven. He shimmied down behind her and pulled her in close to him. At the sensation of warmth, Seven clumsily turned over, pressing herself up against his warmer body. He tucked her head under his chin, fighting to keep his teeth from chattering at how cool she felt compared to him. "Toss a blanket over her, would you?" he said to B'Elanna. When the half-Klingon spread one out, Chakotay lifted Seven's shirt up to her armpits, pressing her tighter to him while she curled her hands between them.

"Do you need someone else?" B'Elanna asked, "Or can I go keep working on her unit?"

"B'Elanna, you better worry about the regeneration unit. Harry, you're up." said Tom.

The younger man blanched. "What? No, I can't."

"Oh for Kahless's sake, Harry." B'Elanna rolled her eyes, pulling the blanket back and scooting in behind Seven. She shivered as she pressed against the ex-Borg's bare back. "Harry, you get to work on the unit. Decode some of those Borg algorithms if you can. When she's warmed up I'll help."

"Yes, ma'am." squeaked Harry.

 **XXX**

"We should move everything into the cockpit." Tom said some time later, now perched at the helm. He glanced back at Harry sitting on the dead tactical console tossing a round conduit bit from beneath the deck plating in the air like a rubber ball, and B'Elanna who had moved from the bed to continue tinkering with the wires in the regeneration unit. He couldn't see Chakotay curled up with Seven in their little nest, keeping an eye and tricorder scanner on her.

"Huh?" Harry asked, nearly fumbling his make-shift stressball at the sudden intrusion of noise.

"What do you mean?" asked B'Elanna.

"I think we should all bunk up here from now on." answered Tom, crossing his legs at the ankle on the ramp. "Move the water and the food up here- rations and all- and all our beddings and just stay in here."

"Not a terrible idea." said Harry.

"Right." agreed Chakotay from the bedding, rubbing his hand up and down Seven's spine under the blanket. "It puts two more doors between us and that thing outside."

"And we need to be close to help monitor Seven." B'Elanna pointed out. "If we only leave to pee then we reduce our chances of something happening.. something getting in." A chill ran up everyone's spines at the thought of another invasion. Having an entity that you could bodily count but not be able to pick out from amongst your friends was horrifying on a level that wouldn't be leaving their minds for a long time to come.

"It will be dark soon." Harry said. "Let's go ahead and get it all moved then."

"Yup." Tom hopped up, following Harry past B'Elanna and the bedding to go down into the aft.

"Chakotay?" Seven whispered, the veil of unconsciousness moving aside for a moment. Her eyes blinked open, focusing on the warm tan skin she was cuddled up to.

"How do you feel, _Querida_?" Chakotay asked, craning his neck to look down at the top of her head.

The room continued to spin, forcing her to close her eyes. "Are we rotating?"

Chakotay frowned for a heartbeat. "No, baby, we're laying still."

"Equil..ibrium." She couldn't keep her teeth from chattering even in the warmth of the bedding beside him. "Where's.. others? B-lanna.. Tom.. Harr.."

"We're over here." B'Elanna answered, leaning over so she was in Seven's line of sight. "Hey, Snugglebunny."

The blonde frowned, her eyes peeking open and looking up at the half-Klingon hovering over her. "Bunny? What bunny?"

"You're the bunny, Snugglebunny." B'Elanna said with a grin. "When we get back to Voyager and the Doctor gets you all healed back up, remind me to tell you all about it."

The blonde relaxed her neck muscles, letting her head turn back towards Chakotay's chest. "I am not.. a bunny. I am.. B-.."

"Are you thirsty?" Chakotay asked, cutting B'Elanna's gentle teasing short. "Or hungry?"

"No." Seven mumbled. "Cold."

Harry and Tom came back into the cockpit with the bedding and sleep mats. Tom had the box of left-over rations tucked under one arm. B'Elanna picked up the pieces of the partially disassembled regeneration unit and lugged it over to the foot of the bedding so that they could set up the other three pallets, and continued to go over the circuitry inside it. Once Harry and Tom were finished setting up the beds, Harry joined her.

"Need a break, Chief?" Tom asked, leaning over the tactical console to look down at Chakotay and Seven's heads. "Need to stretch your legs?" Chakotay looked up at him with a sigh, shaking his head. "We should take a last bathroom break before it gets dark."

"We can't leave her in here alone." Chakotay said with an almost insulted scowl.

"We won't leave her alone." Harry said. "One of us can lay with her while the others go and then trade out."

Tom nodded. "See, Chakotay?" He gave the older man a reassuring smile. "I want to give her another scan anyway. I can do it while you run to the woods for a second." He smirked. "I'll keep an eye on your girl if you keep an eye on mine." B'Elanna clucked her tongue with a roll of her eyes, making him chuckle.

Chakotay nodded with a sigh. "Alright then." He reached under the blanket and pulled Seven's shirt down over her chest and stomach, then pushed the blanket back from him. He carefully rolled Seven onto her back, tucking the blanket around her body, before crawling over her to stand. Tom traded him places, picking up the medical tricorder and beginning a more thorough scan of Seven's implants and array. The commander spared her one last glance before leading B'Elanna and Harry to the hatch.

"Are you sleeping, Sister?" Tom asked, running the scanner along the side of the ex-drone's temple. She didn't move to answer him or make any noises. If not for the rapid rise and fall of her chest, he would wonder if she was still alive as eerily still as she was laying. Her skin was cool and clammy to the touch, and even paler than usual. Despite her body temperature currently being normal, her lips and the fingernails of her human hand were definitely tinged blue. "Seven.. Wake up for a second, Sister." he said, giving her human arm a gentle shake.

Seven's eyes fluttered, her head turning in his direction. "What.. brother.." she mumbled, and then was out again.

The blonde medic smiled affectionately. "Brother, huh? I guess I deserve that after calling you Sister for years.." He ran the scanner over her chest. "Rapid heartrate... but weak pulse.." He reached up and lifted her eyelids, one after the other, testing her pupils' reaction to the light of the tricorder. "Weak, confused, lightheaded, in and out of consciousness.." he softly ticked off. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're bleeding to death." He sat down cross-legged beside her. "Though I guess that's not far from the truth, is it?"

"Her nanoprobes are a big part of her blood volume." B'Elanna said, coming back into the cockpit from her restroom break. "She's lost a lot of them."

"I wish there was a way to give her a transfusion out here." said Tom.

B'Elanna settled down beside him, leaning against his side as she watched Seven sleep. "I know. The Doctor can when we get back, though. I'm sure he can."

"Just hope she lasts that long." He turned to his wife, pecking a kiss on her ridged forehead. "Did you already go to the bathroom?"

"Yeah. I'm here to trade you places." she answered, turning her head to kiss his lips. She smiled at him when he pulled back. "Better go before Chakotay decides you don't need to. He's antsy out there."

"I would be if it were you that was sick." Tom sighed, standing up and setting the tricorder on the console beside them. "I'll be right back."

As Tom left, B'Elanna stretched out alongside Seven's body, wiggling under the blanket next to her. Sensing warmth, the blonde woman turned towards B'Elanna and curled against her. After a few seconds, azure eyes blinked open to meet brown, quickly going from confused to lucid. "Hello." Seven said softly, tiredly lifting her head to look around. "Where is..?"

"They're outside taking a bathroom break." answered B'Elanna. "Do you need to go?"

Seven shook her head, relaxing back onto the pallet. "No."

"Well lucky you then." teased the pregnant Klingon. "I have to go enough for the both of us with this little monster using my bladder as a pillow." She smirked affectionately. "How do you feel?"

" _Me duele.._ " answered Seven. "Cold and.. hard to.. focus.. Hard to stay awake.. Was Tom just..?"

"He was just here, yes. He's outside for a minute." said B'Elanna. "If it's hard to stay awake, don't bother for my sake. Sleep. Maybe it will help your nanoprobes stay a little more charged." Seven nodded once, curling closer to B'Elanna's side, stomach to stomach, and relaxed. B'Elanna put her arm out over the ex-drone's side, making herself comfortable. "You need all the charge you can get until I can get your mobile unit to work.. somehow."

"No power, 'Lanna." Sevem mumbled. "No alcove.."

"Well, we didn't have power for heat and air but I fixed that, didn't I?"

Seven frowned, her eyes still closed. "..helped."

B'Elanna snorted. "Right, yes, you helped. You just better hang on til I'm finished. No dying on me, you hear me?" she teased. Seven half-smirked. "You can't go out like this- you're my friend. If you die, I'd have to do something crazy.. like name my baby after you- and why would you want to curse her with a name like that? What's she ever done to you?"

Seven's eyes fluttered open, and her hand sluggishly moved up to poke B'Elanna's rounded belly. "Well.. right now.. she's kicking.. me.."

B'Elanna chuckled. "Kicking you? I'm the one with bruised ribs here."

One silver eyebrow rose. "That hard?"

"Maybe one day you'll feel it for yourself if you and Chakotay have kids."

The blonde scrunched her nose. "He doesn't want.."

"Ready to work on that unit?" Harry asked, walking into the cockpit, rubbing his hands together in near anticipation. The sooner they could possibly fix Seven's portable regeneration unit, the better- if they could at all.

"Yeah." B'Elanna said, gently disentangling herself from the blonde. Seven's blue eyes slid open, surprised. "Chakotay will be right back. Are you still cold?"

Seven shook her head, watching B'Elanna join Harry at the foot of the bed. By the time Tom and Chakotay came back inside, she was asleep again.

 **XXX**

Kathryn Janeway stalked back and forth across the length of her Ready Room, holding her long-empty coffee cup to her chest, her fingers drumming along the sides. Her shortened fingernails ticking across the smooth metal was a grounding noise as she pondered what exactly they may find when they reached the planet she had possibly doomed her senior staff to. How exactly should the words of the professor be taken? At face value? He had no evidence- no scientific papers to back him, no studies, no autopsies, no genetic evidence of such a horrifying beast even really existing. But then why did she have such a nervous knot in her belly? She liked to think she had a little bit of a sixth sense for things like this- whether or not something was going to go so sour... and the little planet.. well, maybe it had been too good to be true. Had she sent some of her closest colleagues and friends to die over a few measly dilithium crystals when they were already on the way to a planet in which they were going to trade for some? What had greed cost them?

The door chime washed over her like a bucket of ice water, startling her out of her thoughts. She started to bring the empty coffee cup to her lips out of sheer habit before remembering that it was empty. "Come in." She called, walking to the replicator to recycle the mug.

Tuvok walked in, his hands behind his back as he stood at attention near her desk. "Captian." he greeted.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" she asked, pushing the button to make her empty cup disappear in a little shower of blue static.

"We have received a distress signal." reported the Vulcan. "It is Starfleet. Most likely from the away team."

Kathryn whirled on him. "What did it say?"

"They are downloading the message now. It is partially corrupted due to radiation levels nearby."

"Radiation?"

"Yes."

Kathryn rounded the desk, heading to the bridge. "Well, let's see what we can get out of it either way. He turned her attention to Icheb at the opps. "Report."

Icheb nodded once, a perfect mimickry of his mother. "Yes, Captain."

The overhead speakers came to life, staticy at first before a familiar voice could be heard through it. " _Delta Flyer to... -ger... radiation causing... nacelles... preparing for a crash landing. Buckle up, folks-..._ " Tom's voice came across through the static. The knot in Kathryn's belly tightened as she listened to the beginning booms and crashes coming across the speaker- the unmistakable sound of a console overloading and then a female's pained yelp.

"Orders?" asked the lieutenant at the helm, looking nervously back at his Captain. He was sure that the fearful look in her eyes was not for him to see, and quickly turned back around to face the viewscreen.

"How far are we from the planet now?" asked the Captain, shaking her nerves off enough to sound far more confidant than she felt.

"Approximately fifty-seven hours at our present speed." answered Tuvok form his station.

"Lieutenant," Kathryn said, heading back to her Ready Room. "Go to warp eight. I want to be there in half that."

"Yes, Captain."

 **XXX**

" _Querido?_ "

The Commander looked down at the blonde curled up to him with a warm smile. "Hey, _Querida_."

"Where is.. the Captain?" she asked, eyes closed but her face turned to him.

"She's on Voyager, babe." he answered. "Coming to get us."

"..Oh."

Tom chuckled, walking to join the others on the bedding. Harry and B'Elanna had Seven's portable regeneration unit opened and half of its guts spilled out around them. He was careful to not move any of the pieces as he took a seat nearer to Seven, and lifted the little tricorder to take some readings now that she was once again awake.

"Where is my son?" Seven asked softly.

That question bought her some attention. Tom frowned curiously. Harry and B'Elanna also turned around to look confusedly at the sick drone laid out beside their commander.

"Son?" Harry asked, setting the length of wiring in his hands down in front of his crossed legs.

Chakotay only smiled. "Icheb is on Voyager, too. He's safe- waiting for us to get home."

"Accept.. -able.." Seven said with a little nod. After a few seconds, she frowned. "Where are Rebi and Azan?" she asked. "My Mezoti?"

"She's delirious again." said B'Elanna, concerned eyes searching the side of the sick blonde's face that she could see.

Tom nodded. "Her temperature is a little elevated again."

Chakotay blanched. "Seven, Azan and Rebi are with the Wysanti, remember?" he said carefully, "And Mezoti-"

Seven's frown deepend. "Why do the Wysanti..?" She cut herself off, tucking herself closer to Chakotay's body. " _Why_ did they take my children?" She barely sniffled, her face flushing a shade darker as Chakotay pulled her in closer to him. "My Mezoti?"

Chakotay leaned his face down, kissing the top of her head. "Baby, she's with her brothers. She went to go grow up with them, remember?"

Grey-black tears began to pool in the corners of Seven's closed eyes as she shook her head. " _Why_?" she whimpered.

B'Elanna made a sympathetic noise, turning on her side to face Seven. "I thought the children wanted-"

Chakotay shot her a dark look, cutting her off with one short shake of his head. When the half Klingon was quiet, he turned his attention back on the sick ex-drone. "Querida, they're safe and happy. They're getting to grow up together like normal children." He rubbed her back, pulling her in closer to him. "Icheb is still with us, though. Your boy isn't going anywhere."

"One." Seven mumbled, "The newborn, the twins, Mezoti.." A soft, strangled sound pushed up her throat. "Why are all of my children taken from me?"

"I didn't know she considered the Borglings her's." Tom said softly. "But it makes sense, doesn't it?"

The ill blonde sniffled again, not paying attention to the people behind her. "Mezoti called me Mama.. Now they're gone.."

"Not all of them are-" Chakotay was cut off as a sob broke through Seven's lips. "Baby, they're-"

"They're gone." Seven wept quietly, her shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.

"Icheb is still here." Harry said, watching the two on the bedding with a concerned look.

"The Captain tried to give him away.." Seven murmured, letting Chakotay tuck her head beneath his chin. "He was nearly lost, too."

B'Elanna swiped her hands across dampening eyes, her face a mix of irritation and sadness. "Damn hormones.." she hissed. With a sigh, she set the parts in her hands down and slung her arm over the slender woman's belly, scooting down to lay behind her. "Kahless, Seven.."

"You could always have more kids, Seven." Tom said, his voice light, trying to lighten the mood. "You and Chakotay could have a baby."

Seven shook her head, burrowing closer. "He won't want to have a child with me.."

Chakotay's dark look turned into a glare at Tom. The younger man nervously scaratched at the neckline of his shirt, averting his eyes. The dark haired commander turned his attention back to the sickly ex-drone. "Maybe someday, _Querida_." he soothed. " _Te quiero, Seven. Tendría una docena de niños contigo._ " He pecked a kiss on her brow, ignoring B'Elanna's surprised expression. "But first we have to get off this planet."

" _¿Prometes?_ " Seven whispered.

" _Lo prometo._ " he said, firmly but gently. Crisis over, Seven's body slowly released its tension, relaxing back into sleep.

 **XXX**

The microfilament slid scross the tiny chip and embedded itself into the fleshy part of B'Elanna's thumb. The half-Klingon hissed in pain, yanking the offending tool out and then sticking her thumb in her mouth to soothe it. Harry jerked in surprise next to her, dozing off as he sat holding the two motherboards up for B'Elanna to rewire. " _baQa!_ " grumbled B'Elanna. She set the microfilament on her knee and brought her hand up to rub the bridge of her nose before her vision could double again.

"Are you okay, _Be'nal_?" Tom asked groggily, leaned back in the pilot's seat, feet propped up on the ramp. He sat up straight, craning his neck to see the two sitting hunched over on the bedrolls.

"Yeah, I'm okay." B'Elanna groused, glancing over at Chakotay and Seven on the other side of the bedrolls. Seven, she wasn't surprised, was still asleep or unconscious or both.. Chakotay, however, was still out cold next to her, spooned around the ill blonde. It had been a long day for all of them. As she watched him, his eyes blinked open, blearily at first but quickly turning lucid.

"I can't stay awake." Harry said softly, hiding a yawn behind one of the motherboards. "I'm sorry."

"Me, neither." said B'Elanna. "I'm sorry Chakotay. If I don't get some sleep I'm going to start making mistakes we can't afford.."

Chakotay slowly sat up with a tired groan, tucking the blanket down around Seven's sleeping form. She let out a sigh, but remained asleep. "It's okay, B'Elanna." he said softly. "You can only do what you can do."

"What time is it?" Harry asked around another yawn.

"I think it's about midnight." said Tom, craning his head back to see the sky through the windscreen. "Give or take an hour maybe?"

"No wonder I'm about dead on my feet." B'Elanna sighed.

"You're all exhausted. Go to sleep. I'll be awake a while." Chakotay said, propping himself up where he could see the others. "I'll wake you if anything happens."

 _XXX_

In the quiet of the night, his mind wandered and worried, keeping him awake while the others slept. Tom was softly snoring on the other side of B'Elanna. B'Elanna was currently snuggled up behind Seven's back, sharing her blanket and heat. Harry was laying spread-eagle on the other side of Tom, his blanket over his torso and face, and his legs sticking out. Seven was laid out along the length of him, her head cradled in his arm, and her arm over his belly. " _..flowers of yellow and green, towering over you head.._ " he half-sung, half murmured, running his fingers through the cornsilk hair laid out over his arm spilled from its braid. " _..Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes and-_ "

Seven whimpered in his arms, her eyes squeezing shut tight before blinking open to stare at the ceiling above them. With a withering breath, she spoke weakly. "You have.. a terrible.. singing.. voice.. Chakotay.."

The commander snorted, gently turning her head so that he could look her in the eyes. When her blue depths met his brown orbs and focused, he smiled tenderly at her. "Yeah." he whispered. "I can't sing to save my life." He smirked playfully. "You love me anyway."

She frowned as though offended. "Of.. course I.. love you.. Chako..tay.."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to her's, running his thumb over the sensitive starburst by her ear before pulling back a few short inches. "I love you, too, _Querida_."

A playful smirk slowly lit up her weakened features. "Then stop.. singing."

"Okay, okay." he chuckled, pecking another kiss on her lips. "How about I hum to you instead?" Her eyes slid shut, her body too taxed to stay lucid for very long. That was probably for the best, he thought. Perhaps if she wasn't conscious then she wouldn't hurt as bad as it looked like she did. His thumb slowly tracing over her starburst, drawing a soft, contented hum from her mouth, turning her head into his hand until he repeated the gesture.

Finally, her lips quirked at the edges, and she drew in a short puff of air. "..acceptable." Her eyes slid open again, azure blue meeting coffee brown. "Kiss me."

Chakotay quirked an eyebrow, even as he pecked another kiss against her mouth. She full-on pouted, her expression mirroring one he had seen on Mezoti and Naomi's faces many times. He almost couldn't hold back a soft chuckle. "What? Not good enough?" A gentle shake of her head, and a coy smile gracing her lips gave him a little comfort. If she felt well enough for a moment that she could tease him, maybe it wasn't quite as horrible as he feared. Again he leaned down to kiss her, this time more thoroughly, gently pushing her down into the sleepmat as his lips captured her's.

One slightly uncoordinated arm lifted up to wrap around behind his neck as he nibbled on her full bottom lip. The taste of blood- copper and metallic- hit him a second before he smelled it. He pulled back, his eyes falling to her mouth, expecting to see her lips red. "Are you bleeding?" he asked, ignoring her raised eyebrow as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "Did I bite too hard?" She shook her head, pulling her tired arm back down to rest by her head on the bedding. ' _...nanoprobes?_ ' He tried not to frown or show how worried he was, not wanting to distress her. Instead, he pecked another kiss on her mouth before turning them back on their sides and tucking her body up to him. "Go back to sleep, _mi amor_."

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~LM**

 **Translations:**

 **"..bad." Seven to Chakotay**

 **"I'm cold." Seven to Chakotay**

 **"I hurt." Seven to B'Elanna**

 **"Stop!" Seven to Chakotay**

 **"Son of a bitch! Don't touch me!" Seven to B'Elanna**

 **"Hell." Seven to B'Elanna**

 **"I love you, Seven. I would have a dozen kids with you." Chakotay to Seven**

 **"Promise?" Seven to Chakotay**

 **"I promise." Chakotay to Seven**

 **and Be'nal means 'Wife' in Klingon. On a related note, 'lo'Dnal' means 'Husband' as well.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Notes: Hello and welcome to chapter 15! I know I estimated maybe 19 chapters, but this one ran a little long so I needed to split it somewhere. We are on the downward stretch. The end is definitely in sight now. Thank you so much to Starshine and Scifiromance for being my wonderful sounding boards, and for letting me tell them a story. If you haven't yet, definitely check out the newest chapter of Sci's fanfic 'Soft Focus'! It's hilarious! Love ya, chica! :)**

 **~LM**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own it, never will. Good thing I'm not Ferengi because there is no profit to be made here...**

 *****Paragraphs in italics are dream sequence.**

 **XXX**

 _Two imposing Borg tactical drones, male and taller than she, stood between her and the doorway to the royal chambers. "_ You will follow us, Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One. _" they said in perfect synchronized unison._

 _Their mouths may as well have remained closed, for she heard them in her mind with just as much volume and clarity. The realization brought with it a series of cold chills, each running down her back like dead hands swooping across her skin. Her heart thudded in her chest as she reached her hands out to hold them off and realized she was no longer in her biosuit, but in Borg armor. Looking down, she saw that her entire body was re-encased in it, black and heavy and familiar and horrible. Reaching a hand up to her face, she felt the ocular implant sticking out from her eye socket, the Doctor's exact replica long gone. Higher up, her fingers brushed over tubes and wires, the smooth and then bumpy metal plating covering her array, instead of soft blonde hair. What had happened? She wanted to cry- to scream- to panic- to run. '_ Escape! I must escape! Where is Chakotay? Where is Voyager? My collective? _' But, unbidden, her mouth only opened to spit out a monotoned, "_ I will comply. _" Her feet moved without her express consent, and she followed the drones into the royal chamber._

 **XXX**

B'Elanna let out a soft groan as she realized she was slowly coming back to consciousness, as if that sound alone would tell her brain that no, she still needed another hour at least. Her brain didn't get the message, continuing to prod itself awake. The half-Klingon sighed in annoyance, her body too hot and her personal space crowded. For once, the little warrior in her belly lay still with sleep, but it was too late- B'Elanna was awake. She vowed silently that the first chance she got once back on the ship, she was going to ask the Doctor for a bottle of sleep aids, and finally take a good nap before the baby came.

"Please..."

The voice was a soft, pitiful mewl, and directly in front of her. B'Elanna squinted her eyes open. The beginning rays of light outside were glowing a brilliant crimson on the horizon, illuminating the cockpit just enough for the half-Klingon to see. Seven was asleep in front of her, her face a sorrowful mask, cheeks smeared grey with nanoprobe-rich tears. B'Elanna sighed, reaching up and giving the blonde's shoulder a gently shake. "Seven? Wake up, Snugglebunny."

"Hmm?" Harry's half-asleep mumble came from behind her where he lay on the other side of a softly snoring Tom. "Five more minutes, please.."

B'Elanna spared an amused grin that quickly turned into a frown when Seven whimpered again but did not wake. "Hey, Seven.. Seven of Nine?" Again, she gently shook the blonde's shoulder. "Seven, wake up." She put her hand up to the woman's grey face. Her skin was hot to the touch with fever again. B'Elanna turned her attention on her husband behind her, reaching back and patting his chest to wake him. "Tom, wake up. Seven's burning up again."

Tom snorted, startled awake. "What? What? Is the baby coming?"

The half-Klingon snorted. "Hardly. Wake up, _loD'nal_."

The blonde man sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes with the heels of his hands. "What's wrong?" he asked again.

"What?" Harry snorted in his sleep, rolling over and taking Tom's blanket along with his own. Tom looked down at his now cool legs with an amused frown.

"Tom." B'Elanna said, redirecting his attention. "Seven..?"

"Oh, yeah." Tom said, leaning over his wife and putting a hand on Seven's fevered forehead. He sucked in a breath. "Yeah, we have to get her cooled down." He leaned the other way and prodded Harry's back. "Hey, Buster..." He scrunched his fingers along the younger man's ribs, tickling him. "Wakey, wakey- eggs and bac-ey, Harry!"

The younger man made an undignified noise, wriggling away and lashing out at his attacker. Tom deflected his arms easily with a laugh.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Chakotay asked groggily, stretching his arms up over his head on the other side of the ill ex-drone. Stretched out, he brought his arm over Seven's ribs, then yanked it back at the unexpected heat he felt there. "Seven's burning up!"

"I know." said B'Elanna, reaching over their heads for the tricorder and handing it to Tom. "Here, scan her while I get the cold rags."

"Cold rags?" Harry asked, still half asleep though he was sitting up beside Tom now. "What?"

"Seven has a fever again." said Tom, holding the scanner out over Seven's prone form. "She's up to a hundred and four. We have to bring this down."

Chakotay tossed the blankets away from them, scooting back enough to sit up and roll Seven onto her back. B'Elanna grabbed the stack of rags from the dead console and Harry fumbled his way to the broken panel/fan he had left leaned against the far wall. Tom moved out of the way enough to grab a canteen and unscrew the lid. Below them, without the blanket to cover her, Seven began to shiver.

 **XXX**

 _"_ Oh Seven of Nine, Seven of Nine... _"_

 _She didn't want to open her eyes. She knew by the voice in front of her exactly who was speaking to her, and she didn't want anything to do with it. That voice had woven itself down into her soul- or what was left of it- shaping the pathways in her brain, the mapping of her veins, all the way down to the very fibers of her being. Every nanoprobe and implant working exactly as she told it to, fusing flesh and metal better than any surgeon, building efficiency that engineers could only dream of achieving... all with that voice._

 _"_ Seven of Nine.. look at me, Seven. _"_

 _She shook her head, obstinately refusing to comply. This was wrong! How was she here again? What was the last thing she remembered? Did she have any memories? Only the tall cylinder she'd been reborn from came to mind- the warm slick gel she'd floated in, the metallic tang on her tongue. The first face she had seen in years- how many years?- had been her, standing there with that deceptively gentle smile, her hands poised together in front of the cybernetic belly, one reaching out and brushing across her still-wet cheekbone. Her eyes shot open at the memory, electric blue meeting dead silver._

 _"_ You deny us so very hard. _" the Queen said, her mouth a pinched little line, her displeasure apparent. "_ But you cannot deny your nature... we made you as you are. **I** made you as you are. _" She reached out, running her cold hands down Seven's cheeks, mimicking a mother's caress. "_ I brought you into this world. _" she purred. Quick as a whip, her hand drew back, raising high and coming down across Seven's face in a cruel slap. "_ Do not forget that I, alone, can choose to take you back out of it. _"_

 **XXX**

"Here." Chakotay took the wet rag B'Elanna held out to him and gently cleaned the grey smudges from Seven's cheeks. She remained unconscious, her body as limp as a rag doll, her face and torso flushed with fever. Clean, he lay the cool rag across her forehead, hoping it helped.

"Down to one-oh-three point five." Tom said, the scanner poised over Seven's temple. "Keep it up, Harry." He glanced up at the man fanning the broken panel. Harry only nodded, watching the sickly woman with concern.

 **XXX**

 _"_ No! _" Seven backed away from the Queen, holding her stinging cheek in one hand. The temperature in the room was dropping fast, falling past acceptable climate conditions inside all cubes and spheres and complexes. Frost began to slowly turn everything white, beginning with the metal plating of the floors, then bleeding up the alcoves and viewscreens that lined the walls- an insidious entity slowly consuming the room. The Queen stood perfectly still in the middle of it, watching Seven with dull, lifeless silver eyes, until the frost reached her, too, its icy tendrils swallowing her up._

 **XXX**

"No.." Seven whimpered, weakly swatting at B'Elanna's hands as the half-Klingon shoved a cold wet rag up into Seven's shirt to cool her fevered ribs. " _Nej..._ "

"She needs some liquids in her." said Tom. "She's getting dehydrated."

"Hand me a canteen." said Chakotay. Harry stopped fanning long enough to retrieve him one. The commander unscrewed the lid before he gently lifted her head from the bunched up clothes pillowing it, using his thumb to put enough pressure on her chin to open her mouth. Her teeth, once sparkling white, were now grey with the dead nanoprobes making their way out of her body. They pooled black lines between each tooth, and stained the inside of her lips like a grape lollipop. With gentle precision, he poured a teaspoon of water into her mouth, hoping she would swallow, but in her near delirious state, she choked and sputtered, turning her head from him with a weak whimper. "Come on, _mi amor.._ you need to drink.."

"No.." Seven mumbled, "No more.."

"Please?" Chakotay murmured, pulling her up so that she leaned on him, her head against his chest, cradled in his arms like a baby. "Just a little more?" He held the canteen to her lips, pouring another teaspoon into her. This time she swallowed, her eyes fluttering open as she came awake. He tried to pull the canteen away, but she brought one arm up and held it in place, taking another swallow. "Hello." he said when she let him lower the canteen.

"Hello." she mumbled, letting her head loll towards his chest. She let out a little sigh, passing back out.

"There's gotta be some way to rewire this." B'Elanna said, throwing off her blanket and scooting down to the regeneration unit. "Harry?" The younger man nodded, handing the panel to Tom before joining the half-Klingon. Sleep was the farthest thing on their minds as they reopened the unit's casing.

 **XXX**

 _"_ I have a little present for you, Seven of Nine.. _" The Queen practically purred, her smile cruel and beautiful. She turned her head to the drone standing beside her, silently commanding him. The drone walked to the far wall with a single sliding door set in the same angled pattern as the main door into the royal chamber, slipping inside it. Seconds later he returned, a large black bundle wiggling and squirming thrown over his shoulder._

 _At Seven's wary look, the Queen smirked, taking the black bundle and untying the cord holding it closed. In the space of a second, Seven's heartrate jumped and then stopped. The black bag fell away, revealing a familiar little girl wrapped inside._

 _"_ Mezoti! _" she cried in surprise and anger. Her daughter was supposed to be on Wysan with her brothers, safe and out of the insidious reach of the Borg collective! How was it that she was here with the Queen now?_

 _Hearing her mother's voice, Mezoti looked up, her small eyes going wide as she saw her, scrambling up to run to her. "_ Mama! _"_

"Not so fast, _" the Queen said, grabbing the little girl by the hair, "_..Little One.. _"_

 _"_ Let her go! _" Seven yelled, stepping forward. The drones on either side of her grabbed her arms, holding her back. "_ Mezoti! _"_

 _"_ Mama, please! _" Mezoti cried, tears running down her cheeks. "_ I don't want to be here! Help me, Mama! _" The Queen wrenched her closer to her body by her hair, smiling at the pained grimace and squeak from the child._

 _"_ You were always my favorite daughter, Seven. _" the Queen said, putting her arm around the struggling child, holding her with ease, the little girl's movements not nearly strong enough to upset her hold. "_ I thought that you would want to see your favorite daughter once more. _" She looked down at the struggling child. "_ This makes me your grandmother, Little One. Third in line for the crown.. but to wear this crown.. _" She lifted her free hand, running a deceptively gentle finger down Mezoti's face to her chin. "_..you must first be one of us again. _" Without time for the child to process her words, the Queen's assimilation tubules shot out, piercing deep into the little girl's neck._

 _Tiny eyes flew open, seeking out her mother as the nanoprobes flooded her bloodstream, finding and reattaching to the technology leftover that the Doctor hadn't been able to remove, growing new implants that sprouted from her skin and burrowed painfully through her insides. "_ Ma..ma.. _"_

 _"_ No! _" Seven screamed, pulling free of the drones beside her, crossing the room as the Queen allowed Mezoti's body to crumple to the ground. "_ Mezoti! _" She fell to her knees, pulling her daughter into her arms, cradling the small, writhing body to her own. "_ No.. please.. _" She could feel her cheeks wetting with a stream of black tears, flowing over her face to wet Mezoti's hair, her head tucked beneath Seven's chin._

 **XXX**

"One.. last.. piece!" B'Elanna clicked the last part into place on the regeneration unit, completing the circuit. The machine powered on, the green lights on either end lighting up as it made a soft whirring noise.

"You did it!" said Harry excitedly, quickly moving the tools out of the way so they could roll the machine over to Seven's sickbed.

"How does it work?" asked Tom, coming from the helm up the ramp.

On the bedding, Chakotay sat up, scooting back to make room for B'Elanna and the big cylindrical unit. B'Elanna placed the hulking machine against Seven's side, arranging the gel packs hooked up to power it around it to where their wires were not knotted or stretched. Once it was in a position she liked, the half-Klingon pulled a long silver cable out of the end of the unit. On the end of the cable was a little nodule, and she placed it directly on Seven's forehead over her cortical node.

"Now we just flip this switch.." B'Elanna said, turning the little dial on the side. "And it should start- Initiate regeneration cycle."

Seven's body went rigid for all of three seconds before relaxing back into sleep. The unit gave three big clicks before its speaker came to life. _*"Unable to comply."*_

Every face fell. B'Elanna scowled. "Why not? You have enough power for a thirty minute cycle."

 _*"Power levels acceptable. Unable to comply."*_

" _WHY_ are you unable to comply?" asked Chakotay, his face grim.

 _*"The interface is incompatible."*_ chimed the machine _._

"What?" B'Elanna scrunched her nose, making sure that the node was properly adhered to Seven's skin. "Unit, run a complete diagnostic of yourself."

The machine beeped and whirred and clicked again. _*"Portable Regeneration Unit is operating within normal parameters. Battery at seventeen percent."*_

"Initiate regeneration cycle." repeated B'Elanna.

 _*"Unable to comply."*_

"Kahless's last supper.." hissed the half Klingon. "Why not?"

 _"Nanoprobe levels insufficient to interface."_

"What? Clarify."

 _*"Nanoprobe levels insufficient to interface. Detected nanoprobe level is sixty-two percent. Nanoprobe levels must be at sixty-eight percent to initiate regeneration cycle."*_

"Manual override!" B'Elanna tried, her desperation bleeding into her voice.

 _*"Authoriazation code required."*_

"No, damnit!" B'Elanna pounded one fist on the floor. "Why won't this work?!"

Tom had seen enough. He gently took B'Elanna's arm and pulled her against his body, her head going to his shoulder as his arms wound around her back. "Hey, you tried, 'Lanna. We just have to wait for the Doctor now."

Chakotay sighed, gently running his hand down the side of Seven's face. "It's okay, B'Elanna." he said solemnly. "There's nothing more we can do but wait."

"Poor Seven." Harry mumbled, leaning back against the bulkhead at her feet.

"There has to be something.." the half Klingon harumphed, pushing off of Tom and fleeing to the aft. Tom sighed, hopping up to follow her, giving Chakotay a respectful nod of his head.

"Cha..kotay?" Seven whispered, leaning into his warm hand on her cheek. One blue eye popped open, fighting to focus ahead of her. " _..¿Dónde estás?_ "

" _Aquí, cariño._ " he answered, turning her face up to see him, smiling when her lips turned up. " _¿Cómo te sientes?_ "

" _Sed._ "

" _Quieres agua?_ " Chakotay lifted the canteen, unscrewing the top. He carefully pulled Seven to sit up against him, holding the canteen to her lips and watching her drink. After a few short swallows, she leaned back, tucking her head beneath his chin. Harry took the canteen from him to close it, allowing him to support Seven's weak frame, before slipping down into the aft after B'Elanna and Tom.

 **XXX**

Harry hopped down the steps into the cabin with a liveliness he didn't feel. The young ensign was usually able to look on the bright side of things, but the bright side was growing dimmer by the minute. Seven was only worsening, and the morale of their group was plunging down with her. He hated to see her like this- he couldn't imagine how it felt to be in Chakotay's shoes. The commander obviously loved her. Harry could admit to himself that he was a little disappointed about that- selfishly. He'd carried a torch for the beautiful blonde for a while now, only really dropping it a few months ago when a certain crewman had realized he existed. Perhaps if they were rescued in time, and Seven could receive the Doctor's care, she and the commander could be happy together. He would be happy for them.

"No, she showed me." B'Elanna was saying to Tom, pointing at her wrist. "And it comes up out of this little.. port.. in her arm."

"But how do you connect it?" asked Tom, pulling B'Elanna in close to him as they leaned between the wall and the small biobed. "We don't have a Borg conduit."

"What'cha talking about?" Harry asked, leaning on the other side of the biobed.

"Something Seven showed me the other day." B'Elanna answered, her eyes serious as she calculated.

"How's Chakotay?" Tom asked quietly.

Harry looked grim. "Probably as well as you would be if it was B'Elanna that was dying."

The half Klingon scowled darkly. "Don't _say_ that! She's not going to die!" she hissed. "We can't let her-"

"Calm down, Lanna." Tom said, running his hands up and down the ridges of her spine through her shirt. "It's going to be okay. Voyager will be back soon. Even as sick as she is now, I think she could make it another day or two at least.. I hope so, anyway."

"We need more than just hope, Tom." B'Elanna said softly. "We need a plan. This might work.."

"Hey, Harry!" Chakotay's voice rang from the cockpit. "Come here!"

The young man stood straight. "Coming!" he called out, then turned to his friends. "Be right back." And with that, he walked back up into the midsection.

 **XXX**

 _The setting was familiar and foreign at the same time. She was certain this was Voyager- same grey carpeting, same black trim, same artificial gravity plating. But something was wrong. There were no doors before or behind her, no entryways to Jefferies tubes, no consoles set into the walls to show her where she was. She knew she had been over every square inch of Voyager's corridors, and with her eidetic memory she should know exactly where she was. Trying to pull up the information from her cortical node was painful, a dull ache sweeping across her forehead, adding to the sluggish feeling. Perhaps the inertial dampers were malfunctioning? It was like wading through plasma coolant gel just to walk down the hallway._

 _"_ Hello? _" she called out ahead of her, trying unsuccessfully to up her pace. Surely she would come across someone eventually- Voyager was only so big after all. "_ Hello? _"_

 _Instead of the usual right angles, this corridor continued on in a gentle slope to the right. She could only see about twenty feet ahead of her at any given time due to the curvature. Not that there was anything to see. Though she walked on for what felt like hours, no other person or thing met her path. She was both utterly lost, and utterly alone. She wasn't sure which was more alarming._

 _"_ Is anyone aboard this vessel? _" she asked aloud, reaching up to tap her com badge before realizing she didn't have one on. "_ Where is the crew? _" Perhaps there had been an accident? Had they all left her on the escape pods? Were they through another nebula and everyone but herself and the Doctor were in stasis?_

 _...Was this the same nebula? Had the last three years simply been a figment of her imagination, her implants tainted by the effects of the nebula's radiation? Had she really never had and lost One? Never traveled through the dark parts of space? Never been aboard the Equinox and tortured by the Doctor? The vinculum? Aries IV? The children? Quarra? Chakotay? She paused her step. "_ Please, no. _" she whispered. "_ Where are the children? Icheb, Azan? Rebi and Mezoti? _" She managed to quicken her steps. "_ Children! Icheb! _" she called, reaching out and grabbing hold of the next bulkhead, using her arms to propel herself faster. "_ Azan! Rebi! _" Why was it so hard to walk? Why did her hip burn like it was on fire? "_ Mezoti! Mezoti, where are you? _"_

 _A soft, familiar giggle ahead caught her attention. For a brief second, her eyes landed on Mezoti's back, the little girl rounding the corridor ahead of her so fast that her hair was fanned out behind her. Seven nearly sighed in relief even as agitation colored her face a hint of red. "_ Mezoti, come back here at once! _" she called after her rogue daughter. "_ This is no time for games! _"_

 _"_ Seven! _" Rebi's voice was coming from ahead of her, distant. "_ Seven, will you tell us a story? You tell Naomi and Mezoti stories! _"_

 _"_ Yeah, Seven! _" Azan joined in. "_ Tell us about the last great Frost Fair or about the Singing Towers of Darillium! _"_

 _"_ Will you read us a book, Seven? _" Rebi's voice was farther away now. "_ Before we are taken away? _"_

 _Azan sounded just as far. "_ Will you promise us? Please, Seven? _"_

 _"_ Boys! _" she shouted. Damn this burning pain in her leg! Why was she so slow? "_ Boys! _" She continued on, once more seeing a lock of Mezoti's hair, the bottom of a little shoe, twice a blue overalled pant leg, always just too far ahead of her._

 _The corridor was becoming darker the farther she walked, a few of the recessed lights blinking. Every now and then there was a charred mark on the walls or carpet- remnants of phaser fire? As she continued on, the marring became thicker, not as spaced out. What had happened here? "_ Icheb? Mezoti? Boys? _"_

 _"_ Mama! _" Mezoti's voice rang back. "_ Mama, where are you? _"_

 _"_ I'm here! _" The air smelled like burning circuitry now, smoke hanging in the air light enough it could be mistaken for fog. Here and there were pieces of burnt debris, slowing her down as she had to step on or around it- a wall panel here, a piece of a motherboard there. "_ Children! Come back! _"_

 _ *****_ "Captain Kathryn Janeway to Seven of Nine." ** _*_**

 _She nearly paused in surprise. "_ Captain? Seven, here. _" she said aloud, pushing a charred wall panel out of her way. "_ What has happened? Are we under attack? _"_

 ** _*_** "Where are the children, Seven?" _ *****_

 _"_ I.. They are in the corridor. I- _"_

 _ *****_ "I left them in your care, Seven, and you can't even keep up with them?" ** _*_**

 _She set her jaw. "_ I am in the process of retrieving them, Captain. _"_

 ** _*_** "Well I suggest you get a move on then." _ *****_

 _"_ Yes, Captain. Seven, out. _"_

 _ *****_ "Oh, no, you don't. This channel will stay open until you find the Borglings." ** _*_**

 _"_ As you wish. _"_

 _ *****_ "Why haven't you found them yet?" ** _*_**

 _"_ They are in the corridor. Obviously we have suffered some kind of catastrophic- _"_

 ** _*_** "And you didn't have them with you? What kind of mother are you?" _ *****_

 _Seven scowled darkly, gritting her teeth. "_ They are clearly frightened and are trying to return to the safety of our cargo bay. I am merely following them. _"_

 ** _*_** "Have you found them yet? Maybe you should use your mothering instincts." *****

 _"_ Maybe you should keep the ship out of danger and we wouldn't have- _"_

 ** _*_** "Seven of Nine, I don't believe I appreciate your tone." _ *****_

 _Ahead, the hallway changed. Instead of a single gently curve to the right, another corridor was opened to the left. As she made her way to the fork in the road, she could just see Mezoti again, rounding the last bit of visible hallway to the right. To the left, she spotted Chakotay's retreating form. Her eyes widened, eyebrows raised. "_ Chakotay! _" she called out after him, beginning to turn down the charred and damaged hallway to the left._

 _"_ Mama.. You promised.. _" Azan's voice came from the right._

 _Her head turned to the right in time to catch his overall legs as he ran away from her. Was he upset with her? What had she promised? "_ Azan? _" She sighed, knowing she could not catch up with her children. They were too fast for her, and she felt so slow.. so damaged.. If she could get Chakotay's help, he could run ahead and make sure the children were alright until she could make it to them. But if she turned to follow Chakotay, the children would only become that much farther ahead of them.. Which way should she go?_

 _Finally, she turned left. Chakotay would help her. "_ Chakotay! _" she called out after him. "¡Espérame!_ Please! _" Like the children, he continued on as though he hadn't heard her._

 _ *****_ "Where are you going, Seven?" _ ***** the Captain asked overhead, *****_ "You can't just abandon the children!" ** _*_**

 _"_ I AM NOT ABANDONING THEM! I WOULD NEVER ABANDON THEM! _" Seven stamped her foot, ignoring the stabbing pain in her hip, and managed to break into an agonizing jog._

 **XXX**

"It's about this big around." B'Elanna pinched her fingers very close together. "About point-seven millimeters." She was currently trying to sort through the myriad of wires hanging from under the helm's large console, searching for the right size wire- or one close enough she could rig somehow. Harry and Tom on either side of her nodded, helping her search. "I only need about 45 centimeters or so- it just has to be so small.." she trailed off, picking through the different wires. "And I swear we used either that size or smaller for the.."

"For the interlocking mesh ionizers for the replicator system." finished Tom, holding out the correct size wire. He tried not to wince when B'Elanna reached out and yanked the cable free of the console with a swift jerk. It's not like the replicators were doing them much good right now anyway. Still... He reached out and gave the console a sympathetic pat. It was going to take months to rebuild his precious Flyer.

"Is Chakotay still out?" B'Elanna asked Harry, pushing him to go check. The young ensign crept to the tactical console, carefully peeking over the edge.

Chakotay lay curled up around Seven's still form, fitfully resting. B'Elanna had tossed a blanket over them earlier when she and Tom had returned from the aft to find him finally resting. The three of them were sure he had spent most of the night awake in worry. In sleep, he held Seven's limp body to his, her head rested on his bicep and his free arm around her stomach. Her face was still slightly flushed with the fever that now wouldn't go down, her hands curled up in front of her face.

"They're asleep." said Harry. He turned back to B'Elanna and Tom as they crept up beside him. "Now what?"

"Now I have to take the little battery from the HVAC and wire it up to this." answered B'Elanna, holding the cable. "If I can use one of the gel packs, I can bolster the-"

"Just do it." Tom said gently. "Before he wakes up."

"Why is it a secret?" Harry asked, watching B'Elanna move to disconnect the battery.

"We don't know if it will work." said Tom. "Don't want to get his hopes up."

 **XXX**

 _Her jog didn't last long. The aching burning pain in her hip was too much even for her to bear. Why did it hurt so badly? She couldn't see a hint of blood on her biosuit, though it was stained black with soot from whatever had happened on the ship. Continuing on as swiftly as she could limp along, the damage to the ship became more severe. Lights were blinking haphazardly if not out altogether, throwing ominous shadows across the charred and melting walls. Bits of broken furniture and shuttle plating littered the hallway, creating a labyrinth of destruction she felt lost within. Still, ahead, if she squinted her eyes, she could catch glimpses of Chakotay's retreating form- his black hair catching the light, the red of his uniform jacket, the shine of his shoes as he walked. As long as she could still see him, there was hope of catching up._

 _"_ Chakotay! _Por favor, esperame!" she called out. Before her, a piece of ceiling groaned, buckled, and fell, screeching against the metal walls on either side, clanging loud enough on the floor that she could feel it vibrating her teeth. For a few seconds, she was deafened, and then her ears began to ring. The smoke that began to billow out of the gaping hole in the ceiling was acrid and choking. She ducked down below the white fog, hurrying over the bit of ceiling plate and then continuing down the hallway. "_ Chakotay! Come back! _"_

 _ *****_ "Why aren't you with the children, Seven?" _ ***** Janeway's voice was biting, her tone accusing._

 _"_ Chakotay will help me- _"_

 _ *****_ "Here you are, chasing after my first officer.. is there something you need to tell me, Seven?" ** _*_**

 _"_ No! _" There was another glimpse of his back. "_ Chakotay! _¡Maldición!"_

 ** _*_** "Do you kiss your mother with that potty mouth?" _ *****_

 _"_ I do not HAVE a mother! My mother was assimilated and died- _"_

 ** _*_** "I see where you get your parenting skills." _ *****_

 _Seven felt as though she'd been physically struck. The Captain had never been this.. cruel.. to her before. "_ Your.. _" She tried to grit her teeth behind a bottom lip that wanted to tremble. "_ Your opinion is.. irrelevant. _"_

 _ *****_ "Is it? Is it really, Seven?" _ ***** the Captain purred, her voice velvety smooth and full of hateful malice. *****_ "You've definitely not turned out the way I had planned. Not one bit. Here you are: chasing after Chakotay..." _ *****_

 _Her eyes kept trying to well up, and she looked up to blink the tears away. Damn these human emotions!_

 _ *****_ "..fighting constantly with my chief engineer.." ** _*_**

 _"_ B'El-.. B'Elanna is my friend. _" The first tear escaped, falling down her cheek in a red-hot line._

 _ *****_ "..estranging yourself from everyone on the crew.." ** _*_**

 _Would all her supposed sins be laid bare?_

 _ *****_ "..abandoning the childre-" ** _*_**

 _"_ I have not- _" Her voice cracked against her will._

 _ *****_ "..always acting so damn superior to everyone and everything- but you and I know the truth, Seven, don't we? You know you're not-" ** _*_**

 _Seven grit her teeth as another tear fell. "_ Captain, are you quite through?! _"_

 _ *****_ "No, I'm not. Speaking of acting superior and abandoning the children- need I remind you that you have yet to locate them? The ship could self-destruct any moment now and here you are.. galavanting off away from them.." ** _*_**

 _"_ I am NOT galivant- _"_

 _ *****_ "Really, Seven? You're certainly not trying to find them." ** _*_**

 _A piece of wall panel hung precariously from one last bolt, white sparks shooting out from behind it where wires had been torn away- the only light this far down the corridor. Seven gingerly pushed it away from her, then jumped when it fell free, crashing loudly at her feet. The movement sent a lightening strike of pain from her hip up to her head, doubling the foggy sluggishness she felt and her headache, costing her what little balance she had left. Heavily, she fell against the wall, one hand gripping the bulkhead to steady herself, the other cradling her aching forehead. The tears fell easily now that she was too weak to hold them in, large black droplets painting her cheeks the same ashy grey as the carpet charred below her feet._

 _ *****_ "Oh look at the high and mighty one now." _ ***** Janeway's voice purred._

 _"_ Shut UP. _" Seven growled. "_ I have to find Chakotay. He will- _"_

 _ *****_ "Never love you. Never care. I don't see why you even bother, really. Can drones even love?" ** _*_**

 _From down the corridor, she heard Chakotay calling her name, his voice its usual baritone but softened like when he spoke to her as he held her close to him. Dulcet and sincere. "_ Seven? _"_

 _She pushed off of the wall, the sound of his voice renewing her sense of strength. "_ I'm here, Chakotay! _" she called out. Her legs were stiff, and unwilling to follow her orders, but she pushed on by strength of will. "_ Chakotay! _"_

 _"_ Seven.. _" He wasn't far now._

 _The corridor turned sharply once to the left, leading into at straight hallway four meters long. At the end of the hallway was a door, but unlike any door she had seen aboard the ship. The door was tall and wooden, a flock of birds elaborately carved into its once rich mahogany. Once beautiful, it now hung on squeaking hinges, blackened and cracked from the heat of fire. Beyond it was darkness._

 _"_ Seven? Are you coming? _" Chakotay's voice came from beyond with swinging door, light and teasing._

 _"_ Yes. _" she answered softly, trepidatiously, as she stepped forward towards the door._

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **Thank you SO MUCH to all my reviewers! You brighten my day, and make me want to keep writing! MUAH!**

 **~LM**

 **Translations:**

 **loD'nal- 'husband'- B'Elanna to Tom  
Nej- 'No'- Seven to B'Elanna  
Mi amor- 'my love'- Chakotay to Seven  
¿Dónde estás?- 'Where are you?'- Seven to Chakotay  
Aquí, cariño. ¿Cómo te sientes?- 'Here, sweetheart. How do you feel?'- Chakotay to Seven  
Sed- 'Thirsty.'- Seven to Chakotay  
Quieres agua?- 'Do you want some water?' - Chakotay to Seven  
¡Espérame!- 'Wait for me!' - Fevered-dream Seven to Fevered-dream Chakotay  
Por favor, esperame!- 'Please wait for me!'- Fevered-dream Seven to Fevered-dream Chakotay  
¡Maldición!- 'Damn it!'- Fevered-dream Seven**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes: Welcome to Chapter 16! Sorry this one is so short, but the next one will be long. This one just has a natural stopping point before we get to the meat of the next bit.. Anyway.. Super awesome thank you to all my reviewers- those signed in and my guest reviews! (Love you all!) Special thanks to Scifiromance and Starshine for letting me tell them a story! Love ya both! MUAH! Make sure you check out Scifiromance's fics _The Gift_ and _Soft Focus_! They're great!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~LM**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own them, never will.**

 **XXX**

"Hold her hand." B'Elanna whispered, settling on her knees in front of Seven's limp form. She put the battery, gel packs, and wiring down by the ex-drone's stomach, and lifted the little microfilament she had plucked from the broken hypospray. She leaned back enough for Tom to gently take Seven's metal-laced hand in his, turning it over in his hands so that the fever-flushed palm pointed up.

"How do you do this?" Harry asked, crouching on the other side of B'Elanna, watching Chakotay for signs of waking. It seemed the older man had finally managed a deep sleep.

"..I'm not sure." B'Elanna said quietly, running her fingers over the skin below where Seven had shown her the conduit's exit point. The metal band around her wrist looked totally smooth, without a hint of there being a port. "I know it comes out here.." she touched the microfilament to the metal band as she spoke. "..but I'm not sure how to get it.. out.." She took Seven's hand from Tom, turning it over to study the smooth silver lines as they plunged into the smooth pink skin. She prodded the pink skin with gentle pressure, not having been able to study the ex-drone's hand up close like this before.

"Well, I don't see how the battery will help if you can't even get the conduit out." whispered Harry, reaching out and feeling Seven's forehead. "She's still burning up."

"I've given all the antipyretics I think her body can stand." murmured Tom, pulling out the tricorder while he waited for B'Elanna. "She's staying at a steady one-oh-three-point-five." he said, reading the results. "I wonder if it isn't her Borg systems trying to keep it that way on purpose. Maybe she needs to be that hot for them for some reason."

"Like she's trying to heal herself?" asked Harry.

"Well, yeah, I think." said Tom. "But there's not enough energy to do so. And the human part of her brain can't take a fever much higher than this. A hundred and five can kill you."

"Here." B'Elanna mumbled to herself, putting careful pressure on the inside of Seven's wrist. She could see where the port was now, the tiny hole recessing but not opening. "Just open up.."

 **XXX**

 _The door screeched on its hinges as she pushed it open, and she could feel the noise behind her eyes like it originated from there. Inside was dark, the only illumination coming from the center of the room- a sickly green light just bright enough for her enhanced eye to see with. Her eye swept the interior from left to right. She was in a nursery- a child's nursery. She had seen pictures of Naomi's nursery in an album on a data PADD the child had showed her once, but this was nowhere near the same room. The walls had been pasted with powder blue paper, pocked with little white fuzzy creatures, but time, neglect, and fire had seen it peel and burn away. To the left was a dark dresser without drawers, small dark creatures nesting in the gaping maws stair-stacked on top of each other. Atop it were charred books and a half-melted plastic Flotter doll._

 _To the right was a bookshelf of toys, all either burnt or ripped to shreds. Some were still smoking, wisps of grey-white fog curling up to the dark ceiling like cigarette smoke. Headless dolls and broken toy shuttles, sewn together with a myriad of dusty spiderwebs, littered the floor in front of the once-blue toybox, its lid splintered in two pieces on the floor. But standing grandiose in the heart of the room was what ultimately caught her eye. A shiny black crib, round and unspoiled by the destruction around it, was where the green beacon of light was shining from. Its sickly light illuminated the clouds of smoke rolling around the silver mobile hanging from the ceiling above it like a hurricane circling the eye of the storm._

 _Her feet moved forward, each step raising a miniature cloud of soot and dust. In ten paces she was in front of the crib and its glowing green light. She felt compelled to inspect the strange piece of furniture, and carefully leaned her head over the edge, one hand steadying her on the top rail. This close, she could pick out the motes of dust and bits of ash swirling through the air, rising up, up, up, drawing her eyes to the swaying mobile above. Instead of shuttles and starships or teddies and dollies, bits of bloody things were skewered on its hooks, slowly rotating. Five tiny fingers, a piece of something red and fleshy, one startlingly blue eye slowly glassing over as the ash stuck to it. Tearing her eyes away, she finally peered down into the crib, her breath hitching in her throat as she took in the metallic lines and circuitry of the miniature alcove- the flashing green dish that lent the room its light, the controls with its scrolling text in the language that was so ingrained in her mind that it may as well have been her mother tongue. But what was an alcove doing here?_

 _On the other side of the crib, past the blinding illumination and the swirl of ash and dust, a soft sound rang out like the coo of a dove. She stood straight, rounding the black crib. Just beyond it was a black rocking chair, occupied by Chakotay, facing away from her. She sighed in relief, limping over to him. "Chakotay, what are..?" Any happy relief in her voice was quickly bled away as she looked over his shoulder. In his arms was a small bundle in a singed blue blanket, cradled to his chest as he slowly rocked. At the sound of her voice, he paused. "Chakotay?"_

 _The man that turned to look at her was not her Chakotay- not anymore. Only one brown eye started up at her, glassy and flat with no look of recognition. The other eye was long gone, replaced with an ocular implant that stuck out several inches before him, blinking red and green lights like a macabre metallic Christmas tree. Tubes and cords pierced through his uniform, connecting implant to implant and powering the sheets of armor she knew would be plated beneath it. The hand supporting the blanketed parcel in his lap was no longer human but Borg- a thick mechanical swiss army knife that denoted him a maintenance drone. The bundle in his arm shifted and squirmed, a tiny mutilated face looking up at her from it, its eyepiece malformed and it's auditory array swallowing half of its tiny head. As she watched in horror, both drones opened their mouths. No voices came out, only the ear-splitting screech of a raven's sharp caw._

 _In surprise, her heart hammering in her chest, she threw herself away from them, her back colliding with the crib as her hands clamped over her ears. A scream was pulled from her lips, joining the blaring shriek as Chakotay and the baby seemed to split before bursting into a flock of black ravens. The beating of a hundred black wings drowned out her scream as the creatures dove at her, sharp beaks and jagged claws ripping at her hair and skin._

 **XXX**

On the sleep mat, Seven's face drew into a frown, a soft pout pulling at her lips as a strangled whimper came from her throat. B'Elanna paused her ministrations to look up, worried that she had somehow caused her pain. Another soft moan pushed past the blonde's lips before she squirmed, her legs shuffling under the blanket, and her head turning fitfully in her sleep.

"Must be some dream." Harry whispered, watching Seven's face.

"Fevers do that." commented Tom, turning the battery over in his hands as he waited for B'Elanna.

B'Elanna smiled grimly, giving the little recess another prod with the microfilament.

"..no.." mumbled the ex-drone, her wriggling beginning to wake Chakotay behind her as she gave her captured arm a weak tug.

"Shhh.. Seven.." B'Elanna soothed, rubbing her hand over the back of Seven's. "It's okay.."

Seven's eyes shot open, wild and unfocused, her whole body jolting. The hand in B'Elanna's clenched, the tubules shooting out past her knuckles like snakes striking, looking to make purchase. B'Elanna yelled out in surprise, shoving Seven's arm away from her as she flung herself back. Tom and Harry both yelped, scrambling away. Tom grabbed B'Elanna, yanking her out of reach as Chakotay startled awake.

Chakotay saw the tubules first thing, grabbing Seven's elbow and holding her arm out away from him. "Seven!"

At the sharp bark of his voice, Seven came fully awake, her eyes focusing as her head jerked around to see him. "Chakotay, you're-!"

"Seven!" B'Elanna cut her off. "Your hand!"

Seven turned to look up at the hand raised above her by Chakotay, her own eyes widening before the tubules quickly retracted back into her knuckles. That done, she rolled on him, looking down at Chakotay with frightened eyes. "You- you were.. but you're not- and the children.. you didn't-!" She grunted in frustration, trying to organize her thoughts through the fog in her head. He only stared up at her in worried confusion, his hand still gripping her elbow. She sank down against him, her whole body growing weak and weightless. "Chako.. I'm so glad.. you're okay.." Finally, unconsciousness reclaimed her, pulling her back down into the recesses of her mind.

Chakotay carefully rolled Seven off of him and back down onto the bedding beside him, folding her arms across her belly in what he hoped was a comfortable position before recovering her with the blanket. Finally, he turned dark eyes up at the three started crewmates recovering on the other side of the bedding. "What the hell were you doing to her?"

B'Elanna was instantly defensive. "I was trying to help her!"

"By messing with her-?"

"She wasn't messing with the assimilation tubules." Tom was quick to defend his wife, sitting up with a frown. "She was trying to get to some power conduit thing-"

"You think she has it bad now- what if one of you had been injected? I'm sure she has enough nanoprobes left to assimilate all of us." hissed Chakotay.

"There's no need to fight over this." said Harry, holding his hands out placatingly. "B'Elanna didn't mean to trigger the tubules- she really was just trying to help!"

Chakotay sighed, drawing his knees up and resting his arms on them, one hand rubbing the bridge of his nose to stem the tension headache he could feel coming on. "Warn someone next time maybe." he murmured.

"Are you okay?" Tom turned his attention on B'Elanna, taking her hands and looking them over for signs Seven had accidentally reached her. The half-Klingon nodded, taking her hands back before moving back to the aft, excusing herself from the whole situation.

 **XXX**

Kathryn sat in her Captain's chair, legs crossed at the knee, foot tapping, cradling the bridge of her nose in the fingers of one hand, and holding her seventh or eighth- at this point did it really matter?- cup of coffee in the other. She knew they were nearing the planet as fast as they safely could, and she also knew that she shouldn't take everything the Tinvarii biophysicist said to heart, but it was getting harder for her to sit still. She felt like she was sitting at the top of a giant cliff on a scooter with shoddy brakes, just waiting to fall off the edge. How many times had they come across civilizations that believed in all sorts of miraculous and horrifying spectral and supernatural beings? How often had their own equipment been able to prove them false? Why did this feel so different? She sighed, covering the noise with a little cough as she readjusted in her chair. "Tuvok, report." She sighed again- her voice sounded weary even to her own ears. The quick concerned glance from Wildman at the science station didn't go unnoticed, either.

"We are still at least thirty-two hours away from the planet, Captain, if we continue on at our present speed." said Tuvok, his neutral voice a calm lifeline for the Captain to hold on to. "I have yet to detect anything amiss, but we are still several lightyears away."

"Thank you, Tuvok." said Kathryn, going to take another sip of her coffee and discovering the cup long empty. Another sigh. "Computer, time."

*"It is 2038 hours."* said the monotoned computer's voice.

"Captain, we can continue to monitor the planet closely throughout the night now that we have it on our scanners again. Perhaps you would like to retire for the evening?" Tuvok commented. "We will inform you of any changes as they happen, of course."

"Thanks, Tuvok, but I don't think I'm in the retiring mood." returned the Captain, sitting up straighter in her chair. "How about you?"

"As I am a Vulcan, I do not require sleep for another fifteen hours, Captain."

"Another two cups of coffee and I'll be right there with you."

 **XXX**

"Still at one-oh-three and a half." Tom said softly, scanning Seven's still unconscious form. Since she had startled awake hours before, she had yet to regain consciousness for any amount of time. The field medic flipped the tricorder shut and set it back on the console with a sigh. "She's still losing nanoprobes, or at least less are showing up on the scans."

Harry grimaced, stricken. B'Elanna sighed. Chakotay ran a nervous hand through his hair.

"I'm telling you, Chakotay, if we can just get that little conduit.." B'Elanna began. Chakotay's stricken look cut her off. "I just want to help her. You know that."

"Of course I know that." he returned. "I just don't see what you think you can do."

The half-Klingon nodded, standing up. "I'll think of something." she said, gesturing for Tom to follow her back down into the aft section.

Tom stood up as well. "Why don't you guys try to sleep? It's getting dark outside."

Harry sighed. "May as well sleep before they start banging on the hull again."

The blonde pilot grabbed up his and B'Elanna's blankets. Chakotay half-scowled at him. "Where are you two going?"

"I guess back here. We will come back before it's officially bedtime, okay?" Tom smirked. "Dad."

The commander rolled his eyes, waving the younger man off. "Be back before the streetlights are fully lit."

"Yes, sir!"

 **XXX**

"Captain, I found something." Ensign Culhane's voice cut through the thick air on the bridge like a phaser beam.

The Captain nearly jumped in surprise, having silently brooded in her chair for the last several hours since the alpha shift had began. A little over twenty-six hours remained before they would reach the planet- and hopefully her away team safely on it. Setting down her second empty mug on the arm of her command chair, she turned to see the ensign at Opps. "What is it?" she asked, command mask fully in place.

"It appears to be a beacon." answered the ensign. "It is emitting a distress signal. Starfleet frequency."

"Let's hear it." commanded Kathryn, turning back to face the viewscreen and its streaks of starlight as the speakers overhead came to life.

 _**_  
 _"Delta Flyer to Voyager-" Tom's voice was loud and clear, but obviously nervous. "-We have encountered some kind of radiation that has wiped out our-"_

 _"The computer isn't responding to commands." Seven's voice rang out._

 _"Seven, get back in your seat!" B'Elanna hissed. "If we crash and you're-"_

 _"-propulsion and our ability to change course." The sound of Tom hitting buttons on the console in staccato bursts was like rain on a tin roof. "We're being pulled down to the surface of the-"_

 _"Harry, where are you-"_

 _"-If we can just get the main computer-"_

 _"-planet. Preparing for a crash landing. Repeat: Delta Flyer to Voyager, we are-"_

 _"Kahless!"_  
 _**_

The rest of the message was a series of loud crashes and booms, a handful of short screams, and then nothing but the droning buzz of the speakers above their heads, loud in the sudden silence of the room. Kathryn dug her nails into the arm of her chair to keep her face free of emotion as she watched the backup crew around her share concerned glances. After a minute to calm herself, she turned to Tuvok at his station. "Tuvok."

"Yes, Captain?"

She sprung from her chair like a lioness on the prowl, pacing across the bridge. "Begin scanning for federation ship fragments. Let's make sure they didn't break up in the outer atmosphere and- hopefully- made it down to the surface." She glanced at Culhane. "Begin sweeps for human, Klingon, and Borg lifesigns. Continuous sweeps." She glanced at Samantha at the science station. "Inform the Doctor we likely have wounded. Tell him to be prepared." Finally she looked to Jenkins at the wheel. "Ensign, kick us up a notch. I want to be there and pulling them up by morning. I'll be in my ready room."

 **XXX**

 **Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~LM**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Notes: Welcome to chapter 17! Getting closer and closer to the end- whatever that may be.. Thank you to the people who have stuck with me! Special thanks, as always, to Starshine and Scifiromance for being my sounding boards and for letting me tell them a story. Much love! If you haven't yet- 1, where have you been? and 2- make sure you check out Scifiromance's stories! She's updated _The Gift_!**

 **~LM**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own them. Don't make any money off this... unless you can put a price on self-satisfaction. LOL**

 **XXX**

"We have to- she will die without it." B'Elanna said softly but seriously, looking down at the semi-conscious blonde curled up behind them. "It's.. horrible.. it's going to be horrible.."

"She can't survive like this much longer." Tom whispered, his eyes also on Seven's limp form. "She needs the energy to keep her cortical node functioning- let alone power some of the nanoprobe blood cells to carry oxygen to her body. She's essentially bleeding to death. She doesn't have enough functioning nanoprobes in her bloodstream to oxygenate her body."

Chakotay sighed through gritted teeth, running a hand through his hair then down over his face. " _Dios mio.._ " he mumbled, his eyes dark and guilty. "When I told you to think of something... I didn't mean..."

Beside him, Harry shook his head, a sad frown coloring his face. "Poor Seven.."

It had been a long, hard night, and a quieter morning. Seven had remained almost totally unconscious throughout the night, her temperature a steady one hundred three. While briefly awake, she had resisted all attempts to hydrate her, choking and coughing on what little water they could trickle into her mouth. Tom and B'Elanna had spent most of the night huddled together in the aft, leaving Harry and Chakotay to try to sleep beside the sickly blonde. Chakotay had spent most of the time awake, sitting in the pilot's chair, watching what little he could see of the woodline. All hoped to be awakened by a com link sizzling to life with the sound of someone- anyone- on Voyager telling them to prepare of a beam-out. No such call had came. No one was even sure if Voyager was searching for them yet. They were running out of food and water now, and Seven was only getting worse. They couldn't take much more of this.

"What do you have to do?" Chakotay asked softly, resignedly. "To.. prolong.."

"She has a little conduit in her arm." B'Elanna explained, pointing to her own wrist. "What we were trying to get to yesterday." She cut Chakotay off before he could protest, ignoring his scowl. "And this conduit can be used to power drones. She and I talked about it days ago.. before you knew she was sick. She said the Borg could use it to hard-reboot a drone so low on battery that their implants are no longer functioning correctly. We are nearly at that point. I think I have the wiring from her mobile regeneration unit set so that she could pull all the energy out of the recharged power cell from Tom's music box-"

"Boombox." he corrected quietly.

"Whatever." She scowled at him briefly before turning back to Chakotay. "She's too out of it to plug in herself- we need access to the port so I can connect her to the power cell. It won't be much charge, but it could be enough to keep her alive until Voyager comes for us. If it works, we could possibly do it again tomorrow when I have recharged the power cell."

"But you have to cut her arm open?!" Chakotay's stomach turned.

"Yes." said Tom soberly. "But we can't fully sedate her. As out of it and as sick as she is, it would be too dangerous."

"So you have to do it raw?" Harry's jaw dropped, looking in disbelief between Tom and B'Elanna. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." B'Elanna said with a nod.

"She might not make it through another night at the rate she is going- and we may be here another two or three days." said Tom. "At least this way she has a better.." He couldn't continue, crossing his arms over his chest. "I can keep the dermal over her arm as B'Elanna gets the conduit.. and I can try to give her local anesthesia to numb her arm, but she.. she will feel some of it."

"How much of it?" asked Chakotay, rubbing his hands down his face again and letting out a long, low sigh.

"..I'm not going to lie, Chakotay.. it's gonna hurt." Tom said. "But it's better than death."

"How are you going to get her to lay still.." Harry's eyes widened in sudden realization. "You want us to hold her down? While you cut her open?"

"It's to save her life!" B'Elanna's voice cut through the room like a knife, drawing a soft whimper from Seven as she came momentarily into awareness. The half-Klingon knelt down beside Seven, gently pushing the blonde hair back out of Seven's face. "Hey, Seven." she said gently.

"..'Lanna." whispered the ex-drone, trying to focus her eyes unsuccessfully on the half-Klingon engineer. "Can't.. see.."

"She's getting worse.." commented Tom. He turned to Chakotay. "We need to do this fast if we are going to do it."

The dark-haired commander nodded with a sigh, sinking down on his knees on the other side of Seven. " _Querida._ "

Seven was too weak to turn her head towards his voice, but a small smile tugged her lips up when she recognized his voice. " _..Hallå._ "

" _Hola._ " he said, half-smiling. " _Querida_ , we're going to have to.." He gulped, glad she wasn't lucid enough to understand what was going on. "B'Elanna and Tom have to get to a little.. conduit in your arm, okay? To recharge some of your nanoprobes. Can you access that conduit for them before we have to-"

"Hmm?.." Seven whispered, her eyes sliding shut again. Her body relaxed as she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Chakotay sucked in another nervous breath before looking up at B'Elanna. "Fine." he sighed. "Go ahead. Tell.. Tell me what to do to help her."

"I need you to lay down by her and hold her down." B'Elanna said, holding her hand up to Tom for the med kit and tools he held. "If you can hold her human arm and torso, and Harry hold her legs, then Tom and I can work on her arm."

"What about her tubules?" asked Harry.

"The angle we hold her arm should prevent us from being injected if they shot out." said Tom. "And the partial numbing of her arm should also have an effect on her ability to strike."

"Alright then." said Chakotay, laying out next to Seven's body, holding her good arm down with his chest, and giving her torso some of his warmth.

Tom and B'Elanna quickly gathered everything they would need, and set it up beside Seven's body. Once they were ready to begin, Harry took a seat on Seven's shins, forcing her to lay flat on her back. Tom steadied Seven's arm at the elbow, and injected the skin inside her wrist with the hypo spray to numb the area. B'Elanna held the little laser scalpel poised over the pale porcelain skin inside Seven's arm, nervous.

"Do it." Tom urged gently. "The anesthesia won't last long- it's only a tiny dose."

"Okay." B'Elanna said, switching on the scalpel. The first cut was a line three inches long from the bottom silver band that edged Seven's palm down towards her elbow. The ex-drone's heartbeat was so sluggish that it hardly oozed thick black blood. The next cut was deeper, and out of the range of the hypo's reach.

A low, pained moan came from Seven's throat as she tugged weakly on the injured arm. Tom held her tight, reaching over B'Elanna and re-injecting Seven's arm.

" _..Nej.._ " Seven moaned.

"Where is it?" B'Elanna whispered, glancing nervously at Seven's face as the blonde began to come awake at the pain. " _Va.._ " She cut a little deeper, looking for the little silver filament she knew would thread through Seven's arm, and winced as another pained noise came from Seven's lips. "I'm so sorry- I'm so sorry.."

" _Sluta.._ " moaned the blonde, her head turning back and forth before her eyes blinked open. "Hurts!"

Chakotay put his hand by her face, turning her head to look at him. "Seven, _mirame!_ " he said, trying to keep his voice even. " _Corazon_ , we have to fix your arm."

" _Snälla sluta!_ " Seven writhed beside him, black tears beginning to pool in her eyes. "Chakotay, no!"

"Fuck." Tom hissed, holding up the hypo and dialing in a stronger dose. He quickly touched it to the inside of Seven's wrist.

"B'Elanna and Tom are fixing your arm." Chakotay said, his voice as soothing as he could make it. "I know it hurts, _mi amor_ , but we have to.." He swallowed thickly as her fully lucid eyes tried to meet his. "Seven, it will be over soon, I promise."

"Almost done. Promise!" B'Elanna chimed in, carefully moving a spindly silver cord aside. Seven's metal-laced hand clenched into a fist as another cut was made. Sympathetic tears began to spring to the engineer's eyes. She blinked hard to clear her vision. "It has to be here somewhere.."

"Hurry!" Harry urged, pressing his palms down on Seven's thighs to hold them still.

The blonde herself writhed, trying to escape the hold on her. Panic started to cloud what consciousness she managed to hold on to as the searing-burning-cutting pain kept moving deeper and deeper into her arm. A sob bubbled up through her throat, followed by another, and another. "Chakotay, please.." she begged, trying to pull away from his steady weight on her side. "Off! _Nej!_ "

"I can't, _Querida_." Chakotay said, watching B'Elanna's hands even as he held Seven's face from turning towards the surgical wound. "You have to hold still- it's almost done!"

" _NEJ!_ " Seven struggled, growing weaker. "Please!"

"B'Elanna." Tom pointed into the open slit, using his finger to hold one edge open and another to tap the small silver conduit beneath. "This one?"

"Yes!" B'Elanna said, following the conduit up to where it connected beneath Seven's wrist.

Seven sobbed, "Stop! Please, stop!" Weakly, she squirmed again. "You're.. hurting.. me.."

"I'm so sorry!" B'Elanna said, gently disconnecting the conduit. Seven continued to sob, quickly becoming to weak to continue squirming. Tom handed B'Elanna the little battery and its bastardized wiring connecting it to the mobile regeneration unit in the hopes that it would act as a conductor, and watched as B'Elanna quickly connected the little filament to the wires.

The affect was instantaneous and horrible. The conduit lit up with an arc of electricity, burning the skin and muscle it touched all the way down into Seven's arm. An agonized scream was pushed from Seven's chest, cut short as the stimuli overloaded her already sluggish node, and she lost consciousness. The four on top of her jumped into a flurry of action, grabbing a blanket to hold the battery as it quickly drained all of its juice into the conduit even as it burned its way along the line, struggling to hold the wire from touching and burning Seven's palm, quickly disengaging it from the mobile unit. Blisters bloomed down along the inside of Seven's arm, the skin splitting in places to reveal muscle and circuitry beneath from her wrist to the inside of her elbow.

"Fuck!" B'Elanna cursed as the battery shocked her hand with its last drop of life.

"Are you almost done?!" Chakotay asked, his voice as angry as his face. He bit his lip, trying not to look at the black bleeding hole in Seven's arm or the rest of the carnage to her elbow.

"Almost!" said Tom.

B'Elanna nodded, quickly reconnecting Seven's conduit back into the inside of her wrist, tucking it back into place and trying not to grimace as the slack she had pulled to connect it to the bastardized power source slithered back into the depth of Seven's arm like a snake. Tom took over, using the dermal to seal up the incisions behind her. Seven came back around again, her whole body trembling as she whimpered in pain.

"Done!" Tom said, backing off as the last bit of incision was healed. Harry rolled off of Seven's legs as B'Elanna released her arm, and the blonde curled against Chakotay, her breathing coming in great heaving sobs as she cradled her burning arm against her chest between them.

"I think I'm.." Harry said, rubbing the sweat from his forehead. "I'm.. oh, god.." He covered his mouth with his hand as bile began to threaten the back of his throat. Jumping up, he ran back to the aft, twisting the lock to lower the hatch.

"Here, inject her with this." Tom said, handing the hypo to B'Elanna and following Harry outside. "Harry, you can't go outside alone!"

"It's all over." Chakotay said, holding Seven tight to him, petting her hair. "It's over.. it's okay now.."

" _Kahless_ , I'm so sorry.. _jItlhIj.._ Forgive me.." B'Elanna pleaded, holding the hypo to Seven's throat to inject the painkillers Tom had queued up for her. "I'm so sorry- I'm sorry.."

Tom stuck his head back into the cockpit. "Harry's throwing up everywhere." he said, holding his hand out for B'Elanna to toss him the hypo. With it securely in hand, he slipped back outside.

"My.. arm.." Seven managed between sobs.

Chakotay put his fingers under her chin, making her look up at him. Her face was streaked with grey and black lines from her tears, her eyes cloudy from them, but there was some color in her cheeks, and her lips were no longer tinged blue. " _Lo se, cariño._ " he murmured, leaning down and pecking a gentle kiss on her forehead. " _Lo siento._ "

" _..¿Por qué?_ " Seven whispered, her eyes sliding shut as she began to lose consciousness again.

B'Elanna gently pulled Seven's injured arm up to look at, holding the dermal against it to heal the blisters. Chakotay moved back to give her room, sitting up. He felt full of anxious energy, his skin practically vibrating with it. Seeing that the half-Klingon was tending to his unconscious girlfriend, he shakily stood up, and walked to the door into the midsection before looking back at B'Elanna. "We are not doing this again." he said firmly, waiting for the half-Klingon to nod before he stalked out of the shuttle.

"Lanna?" mumbled the ex-drone, turning her head to look up at B'Elanna through black cloudy eyes. "My arm..?"

"I'm healing the blisters, _SuDoy_." B'Elanna half-crooned, gently rubbing her fingers over the healed skin inside Seven's arm. "Does that feel better?"

"..Arm burns." whispered Seven, her eyes focusing on B'Elanna's. "Why?"

The half-Klingon winced, her eyes softening as she lay down the dermal and tucked a strand of sweaty blonde hair behind Seven's ears. "I had to access your conduit to recharge some of your nanoprobes, _SuDoy_." she said softly. "Do you feel any better?"

The exaggerated scowl that crossed Seven's face as her attention turned inwards perked B'Elanna's spirits up. "I.. think.. maybe?" murmured Seven. "So.. tired." Her eyes fluttered closed as she turned towards the pregnant woman on the pallet. "Arm hurts."

"Still?" B'Elanna scowled, pulling Seven's arm back to look at. No more blisters marred the pale skin, and the incision was gone as well. "It's healed, Snugglebun."

The blonde's eyes were confused. "What healed?"

"Your arm." Pushing the medkit and dermal aside, B'Elanna laid out beside the sickly ex-drone. "It will go away in a bit, okay?" She put her arm around Seven, letting the blonde woman curl into her. "Just try to rest. Tom will be back in a bit to check on you, okay, Snugglebunny?"

"Bunny?" Seven murmured, closing her eyes. "..where?"

"Right here." answered the half-Klingon, giving Seven a squeeze.

 **XXX**

Outside, Chakotay stalked past where Tom was holding a clean wet rag out to Harry who was bent over the colorful leftovers of his last meal. His teeth itched, his lips pulled in a tight line over them as he paced the length of the shuttle. Randomly he thought to scan the woods for any sign of the creatures that were no doubt out there watching, but as pissed off as he was, he couldn't say for sure he wouldn't relish beating the ever-loving shit out of something. What better than the creature or creatures tormenting them? He rarely got this angry anymore. In fact, the last time he had been this angry had been when he'd found out about a certain Cardassian spy living amongst them. He'd wanted to break Seska's face like she'd broken his trust. In the end, she got her's, but it was a hollow victory if even a victory at all.

With a growl he marched up to the closest tree, grabbing a thick branch up from the ground that the rain had washed into their little crater. He held the branch like a baseball bat, adjusted his grip, and swung as hard as he could at the tree.

 ***CRACK***

The branch splintered, showering him and the tree in sharp chips of wood. Throwing the rest of the stick away from him as hard as he could, he knelt down and grabbed up a piece of metal as long as his arm- vaguely he noted it was from the underside of a nacelle- and swung.

 ***CLANG***

Neither the tree nor the nacelle track gave, the tremor traveling painfully up his arm to his elbow. He knew for a fact it couldn't have hurt near as much as what he had just allowed Seven to go through.

 ***CLANG***

She wasn't lucid enough to even realize what they were doing.

 ***CLANG***

Or why.

 ***CLANG***

For all she knew, they were holding her down to torture her- her lover and closest friends turning against her in her moment of weakness.. hurting her.

 ***CLANG***

His stomach churned, his mouth watering. He paused only to spit at the base of the tree, refusing to allow the bile to rise.

 ***CLANG***

Her face was burned in his mind, the scream as the wires burned through her.. he would remember that sound until the day he died. The red and black charred skin, the bulbous blisters popping up along her arm like beads of sweat, the smoke, the smell..

 ***CLANG***

The first sour ghost of stomach acid hit the back of his throat. He nearly faltered, unable to swallow it down, but reared back for one more hit before giving in.

 ***CLANK***

 **XXX**

"B'Elanna?" Seven mumbled, her eyes closed.

"Yes, Seven?"

"..my arm.."

"I already healed it, Snugglebun." B'Elanna said quietly, looking down at the appendage in question. It was completely free of marks and blisters, pale as cream where it lay curled between them. She ran a soft finger over where the marks were and jumped when Seven hissed in pain. "We healed it all up, though.."

"Hurts." mumbled the drone. "Chakotay.. where.. is he?"

"He went outside for a minute." answered the half Klingon. "He'll be right back."

"..where are.. we?"

"We're still on the planet. Voyager should be coming for us soon, though." B'Elanna helped Seven fold her sensitive arm back against her body, careful not to touch the inside of it where it still pained her. When Tom came back in, he could re-examine Seven's arm. Until then, the half-Klingon settled into the bedding to keep her warm.

 **XXX**

"You want a shot of promethazine?" Tom yelled over towards Chakotay, watching from afar as the older man emptied his stomach below the tree he had been beating. When the commander shook his head, he sighed, turning back to Harry trying to pull himself back together. To be honest, he felt a little sick to his own stomach. So many emergency shifts with the Doctor during every big catastrophe that had hit the ship over the last several years had done a lot to strengthen his stomach. For once, he was glad he had been volunteered for the job.

"That was horrible." Harry said weakly, wiping his face with the tail of his shirt.

"Yeah, it was." agreed Tom.

"Guys."

"What?" Tom asked, turning back to Chakotay. The Commander was standing ramrod straight, eyes wide, staring past them with a stricken expression. "Chakotay?" The older man lifted his nacelle track, using it to point behind them. The two men swivelled around to see the woodline fifty feet behind them. Standing there, just inside the crater, was.. Chakotay.

Harry gasped, looking over the doppleganger as it stood, watching them with black eyes that seemed to roll freely in their sockets, taking in the world in a mish-mashed 360. Without having to turn its head, all three men felt watched, their skin crawling with the threat of the creature before them. "Tom.." He blindly reached out and grabbed Tom's wrist, tugging it back towards the shuttle. "Come on."

"Slowly.." Tom exhaled, taking a step back.

Chakotay stared at his double, his stomach still rolling, acid still burning the back of this throat. He could see Harry and Tom, the fear on their faces as they both backed up a few steps towards the hatch. Their expressions burned through him, reigniting the fire that his stomach's heaving had doused. "You son of a bitch.." he growled, adjusting his grip on the track and taking a step forward.

"Chakotay!" Harry and Tom saw Chakotay start stalking towards the doppleganger. Despite not wanting to be any closer to the thing than they had to be, they grabbed Chakotay's arms. "No! What are you doing?!"

"Chakotay, stop!" Tom shoved the older man back, but Chakotay had more uppper body strength than he due to his years in the holographic boxing ring, and Tom's little push did nothing to stop the forward momentum of the commander. "Dude! What the hell?!"

"Stop!" Harry yelled, pulling Chakotay's arm, planting his feet. He turned to glance back at the creature and saw it had moved ten feet closer.

"Let go, Tom!" Chakotay growled, trying to shake the blonde off. "Let me go!"

"So you can what?! Go pick a fight with that thing?!" yelled Tom.

"Guys!" Harry squeaked. "It's getting closer! Come on!"

"No!" Chakotay managed to shake Harry loose, gaining a few feet before Harry dove for his legs and tripped him. "Damnit, Harry!" He refused to fall.

The creature watched them curiously, predatorily. Another ten feet was gained. The smell of rotten flesh and rancid blood wafted heavily through the clearing, an invisible cloud of sick that quickly had the three men choking and coughing even as they struggled to hold the biggest of them back. That wasn't who it was after. Another five feet was gained, this time towards the big silver shell at the far end of the pock-mark in the forest.

"We have to close the hatch." Harry spat, gagging at the smell. "Come on, Chakotay! Please!"

Tom wrenched the older man back, trying to make him look him in the eye. Chakotay only glared at the slowly approaching monster, his eyes dark like pits, eyebrows sharp as daggers drawn, lips flared back over clenched white teeth, jaw jutted out like a battering ram. There was nothing but fight written on the usually placid face. "Damnit, Chakotay, I can't leave you out here, but I sure as hell am not picking you over B'Elanna!" he yelled, "Stop this!"

"No!" barked the commander.

 **XXX**

Back in the shuttle, Seven was growing restless. She was too hot, her hips and legs ached, her arm burned from the tips of her fingers up to her elbow. She held the burning hand clenched, afraid in her fevered mind that if she accidentally touched something with it, the whole shuttle would go up in flames. B'Elanna was a comforting presence beside her, but she couldn't draw anything from her, struggling to turn over before she, too, caught fire.

"Seven?" B'Elanna helped the blonde woman move over, fanning the flushed face with her hand.

There was a snake- was it a snake? ' _What do snakes look like? Have I ever seen a snake?'_ Seven grunted, turning her head down to the mat below her and away from the brown serpent blowing ice over her cheek. Unbidden, a long-forgotten memory surfaced in her mind- her father holding a tiny green snake in one hand, holding it out for her to touch.. chasing her with it when she decided she was afraid. The ex-drone moaned, " _Nej_ , Papa!"

"Seven?" B'Elanna watched Seven with a worried expression, unsure how to help her. "Seven, _mírame_." Seven was crying now, her left hand clenched knuckle-white beneath her chin. "Crap." B'Elanna turned towards the door to the aft. "TOM! Tom! I need your help!"

Tom? Seven turned to look back up. If Tom was here... then Harry and Chakotay would be, too, right? Chakotay would make the snake go away for her. "B'Elanna, where.. where's Chakotay?" she mumbled weakly.

"He's outside with Tom and Harry." B'Elanna answered quickly before turning back to yell. "Tom! Chakotay!"

"I need him.." Seven whimpered, her eyes looking over the bedding for the serpent. "Where..?"

"Damnit.. hold on, Seven." The pregnant Klingon sat up, moving so that the two doors would slide open. "TOM!"

Seven rolled onto her back. "Chakotay! Where is he?" The blanket turned as she moved, the corner grazing along the inside of her aching albow. She flinched hard, squirming away from the sensation. "CHAKOTAY!"

 **XXX**

Outside, Seven's terrified yell managed to break its way into Chakotay's psyche. He stopped cold, his head whipping around to look at the shuttle. "Seven?" he yelled.

"Seven needs us!" Tom said, desperate to get the commander moving. "Come on- you have to go to her."

"Yes, come on!" Harry gave another tug on Chakotay's arm and the older man finally began to back up with them.

In front of them, the creature's eyes snapped to the three retreating forms, the rolling eyeballs staring pinpoint focus at them. Its body followed, turning to face them fully.

"Oh shit.." Tom whispered, backing up another step. "You guys.."

"Slow.." Chakotay whispered, still holding the nacelle track like a baseball bat. "Easy does it.."

The three took another step back. The Chakotay creature cocked its head to the side, a long line of slimy drool dripping out of its lips to roll down its chin. It took a step towards them.

"Fuck it- run!" Tom yanked Chakotay's arm and the three men turned and shot towards the open hatch. Behind them, the creature let out a sharp squealing howl, the sound a mix between a lion's roar and a pig being slaughtered. The three men dove into the shuttle, scrambling to get the hatch lifted as the Chakotay creature thundered towards them, its steps heavier than it appeared they should be, shaking the clearing like a whole pack of dinophants stampeding their way.

"Shut! Shut!" Harry yanked the hatch the last six inches. Instead of clicking shut so they could turn the locks, the force of the hatch jerking bounced it back open. One long arm shot into the gap, a light-skinned human hand, tipped with black claws, grabbing Harry by the shirt, jerking him against the hatch. The ensign screamed, flailing, as his head was knocked hard against the metal.

"Harry!" Tom grabbed his best friend and pulled as Chakotay began to beat the arm with his nacelle track. After a handful of heartbeats, the bloodied hand released its grip, the sharp squealing howl echoing loudly in the shuttle as they managed to get the hatch closed and latched.

"Holy shit!" Harry hissed, dropping to his hands and knees, panting. "Oh my god, that was close!"

"Tom?" B'Elanna's scared, hesitant voice ran from the cockpit.

The blonde pilot, bent over to catch his breath, suddenly whirled on the commander, reaching out and shoving the older man against the closed hatch. "What the hell, Chakotay?!"

Chakotay shoved him back, his eyes still dangerous, dark embers. "What?" he hissed.

"Are you trying to get us killed?!"

"Of course I'm not trying to get-!" Chakotay's hissed response was cut off as Seven yelled out for him again. The commander pushed past Tom, heading for the cockpit to check on his lover.

"If we ever get off this planet.." Harry huffed, still catching his breath. "I'm _never_ going on another away mission.."

"Right?" Tom sighed, hurrying after Chakotay to check on B'Elanna.

"Chakotay?" Seven relaxed the second Chakotay settled down beside her, pulling her fevered head into his lap and stroking the blonde hair back out of her face.

"I'm here." said Chakotay. "How do you feel?"

"She says her arm still burns." B'Elanna said to Tom, holding out the tricorder to him. "I don't know what to do for her."

"We healed her arm- it shouldn't still hurt." Tom said, puzzled. He knelt down beside the sickly ex-drone and ran the scanner along her arm.

"Burns.." Seven whimpered, pulling her arm away from him. Her eyes blinked open, looking first at Tom, and then up at Chakotay's face above her. After a few seconds, she looked beyond him, her brows drawing together in confusion. "Why.. is Harry..?" She paused to swallow, her throat dry, as she lifted her human arm up to point above them.

"Why is Harry, what?" Chakotay asked.

Seven scrunched her nose. "..up there?"

"What?" B'Elanna was the first to look up at the windscreen that extended back over their heads, making eye contact with the young ensign whose head was peering at them from the edge of the clear glass. "Harry?!"

"What?" Harry asked, walking into the cockpit, rubbing his bruised forehead.

"Spirits." Chakotay muttered, watching as above them four other heads came into view, peeking down at them over the edge of the glass. From left to right, Harry, B'Elanna, Tom, Chakotay, and Seven's dopplegangers leered, hands tipped with black claws scraping on the glass, eyeballs that moved independently of one another scrolling focus on the originals and the shuttle they were trapped in.

 **XXX**

 **CLIFFHANGER. LOL Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~LM**

 **Translations:**

 **"Nej."- No- Seven (Swedish)**

 **"Va."- Come on- B'Elanna (Klingon)**

 **"Sluta."- Stop- Seven (Swedish)**

 **"Mirame."- Look at me- Chakotay (Spanish)**

 **"Corazon"- Heart- Chakotay (Spanish)**

 **"Snälla sluta!"- Please, stop!"- Seven (Swedish)**

 **"Mi amor"- my love- Chakotay (Spanish)**

 **"jItlhIj."- Forgive me- B'Elanna (Klingon)**

 **"Lo se, Carino."- I know, sweetheart.- Chakotay (Spanish)**

 **"Lo siento."- I'm sorry- Chakotay (Spanish)**

 **"¿Por qué?"- Why?- Seven (Spanish)**

 **"SuDoy"- Blue, affectionately- B'Elanna (Klingon)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Notes: Hello, and welcome to Chapter 18! I know it has been a long time coming! This chapter gave me so much trouble getting out! Probably because I've been working on the seven OTHER story ideas I have. I can't decide which two to devote my time to next. If you haven't read my fanfic, Happenstance, then go check it out! It will be updated regularly from now on as this fic is finishing up!**

 **We are so VERY VERY close to the end! Thank you SO MUCH to Scifiromance and Starshine for letting me bounce ideas and tell them a story! Check out Scifi's fic The Gift! She just updated chapter 111!**

 **Thank you to all my reviewers and the readers that have stuck with me over the course of this fanfiction! You guys are awesome! MUAH!**

 **~The Lady Mage**

 **XXX**

 **Last time:**

 _"Burns.." Seven whimpered, pulling her arm away from him. Her eyes blinked open, looking first at Tom, and then up at Chakotay's face above her. After a few seconds, she looked beyond him, her brows drawing together in confusion. "Why.. is Harry..?" She paused to swallow, her throat dry, as she lifted her human arm up to point above them._

 _"Why is Harry, what?" Chakotay asked._

 _Seven scrunched her nose. "..up there?"_

 _"What?" B'Elanna was the first to look up at the windscreen that extended back over their heads, making eye contact with the young ensign whose head was peering at them from the edge of the clear glass. "Harry?!"_

 _"What?" Harry asked, walking into the cockpit, rubbing his bruised forehead._

 _"Spirits." Chakotay muttered, watching as above them four other heads came into view, peeking down at them over the edge of the glass. From left to right, Harry, B'Elanna, Tom, Chakotay, and Seven's dopplegangers leered, hands tipped with black claws scraping on the glass, eyeballs that moved independently of one another scrolling focus on the originals and the shuttle they were trapped in._

 **XXX Day 9 XXX**

B'Elanna gazed up in fascinated horror at her own face; a near convincing copy leered down at her. Lips snarled back over sharp, jagged teeth, slimy black spittle drooled out of the creature's mouth, dripping onto the glass separating them. Beside the fake half-Klingon, the Tom double turned and snapped at her like two dogs fighting over a bone. She knew in the back of her mind just who the bones were.

Inside the shuttle, Seven let out a half-delirious giggle before turning into Chakotay's embrace. "They're watching us.."

"Damnit, Seven.." Harry grumbled, the hair on his arms standing on end at her declaration.

"Fuck this." Tom grabbed B'Elanna's arm, pulling her to stand beside him. "Come on." He gently pushed her towards the midsection door. "I'm not going to sit here and be stared at."

As soon as they stood, their doubles grew still above them, watching with rolling chameleon eyes. When the real Tom and B'Elanna went through the door and out of sight, their dopplegangers slid back from the window. The fake Harry, Seven, and Chakotay continued to goggle, undisturbed.

"Me, either." said Harry, turning to follow. As the others had, his double disappeared along with him, the body barely making a sound as it brushed along the top of the shuttle.

Chakotay stared up at the two remaining creatures, tightening his hold on Seven as he made up his mind. "Come on, _Querida_." he said, scooping her lithe form up into his arms, and carrying her through the midsection door. He tried to ignore his peripheral vision as the last two creatures slunk back away from the glass after him.

In the aft, he laid Seven out on one end of the long bench. Tom and B'Elanna sat huddled on the other end. Harry was pacing the length of the room, wringing his hands. With a sigh, the commander moved to double-check the locks on the hatch- busy work to preoccupy him until B'Elanna finally broke the silence in the room.

"I wish Voyager would hurry the hell up."

Tom snorted. "Me, too, _Be'Nal_. Me, too."

"They have to know by now something isn't right." muttered Harry a little bitterly. "I mean, they shouldn't be that far away, right? What's taking so long?"

"Maybe.." Seven mumbled, bringing one arm up to rest over her eyes. "..maybe they.. got lost.."

B'Elanna and Chakotay snorted. Tom chuckled, shaking his head.

"Figures it would take a near death experience to give you a sence of humor, snugglebunny." B'Elanna snickered, reaching down and patting the blonde's calf.

"You'd be surpri-" Chakotay's remark was cut off as something large and hard hit the side of the shuttle with a loud, reverberating clang. Four heads ducked instinctively, eyes swivelling around the windowless aft as if expecting a hole to appear. "What the-"

 ***CLANG-CLANG-CLANG***

A chaotic, staccato symphony of impactions thundered through the air around them, the whole ship vibrating with the savage torrent. B'Elanna and Tom hopped up off the bench, joining Harry in the middle of the aft as their faces swiveled from wall to wall to ceiling as every inch of the shuttle seemed to suffer a hit all at once in rapid succession. Chakotay lugged Seven up off of the bench, her limp form tensing as she tried to coordinate her hands up to cover her ears. The commander slid her down until her feet were on the floor, forcing her to take on some of her own weight.

"What in the hell?" Harry yelled over the din, hands clamped over his ears behind B'Elanna. "It's trying to break through the hull!"

"Good luck!" Tom yelled. "It would take a proton torpedo to get through that hull!"

"My ear drums are going to burst!" B'Elanna yelled, her eyes darting around the aft.

"Harry, help." Chakotay leaned Seven's weight back against Harry's side, holding her steady until the ensign got the idea and wrapped his arms around the blonde's waistline. With Seven secure, Chakotay turned and headed back up the steps to the midsection.

"What are you doing?" Tom yelled after him.

"Gonna try to see what's going on out there!" Chakotay answered, slipping into the midsection.

"Stay here." Tom quickly followed after the commander, ignoring B'Elanna's irritated yell behind him.

"No way am I staying here." B'Elanna shouted before marching to the steps.

Harry scowled, turning to meet Seven's half-dazed eyes. As much weight as she was leaning on him, there was no way Seven could walk, and he wasn't sure he could carry her, either. Honestly, thinking at how horrible the glimpse of her hip implant had been days ago, he wouldn't want to make her. ' _Gosh.. had that really been just days ago?'_ Their forced imprisonment and the stress of being hunted were beginning to weigh on him, stretching his sense of time until he couldn't tell you how long they had really been stranded there or even how long he had been standing there in the aft with Seven.

Seven's hands didn't want to cooperate with her to clasp over her ears, though the cacophany of impactions had lessened to semi-tolerable levels. Instead, she tried to use her fingers to grab handfuls of Harry's shirt to ground herself. While her human leg still had a little muscle to it, her enhanced leg felt heavy and numb from her hip down. The effort it was taking to keep what little balance she had was quickly draining her strength.

"Seven, can you-" Harry jerked as the blonde swooned, her body quickly going slack against him. "Seven? Seven!" The sudden full weight of the woman was enough to knock his balance. With a pained oof, he landed on his backside, rolling to his back, and Seven collapsed on top of him. "Seven!" He carefully pushed her off, her body sliding onto the floor beside him, unresponsive. Patting her cheek with the palm of his hand, he attempted to rouse her. "Wake up! Hey! Seven!"

If she made a noise, he couldn't hear it over the drumming beating the hull was taking. The young ensign jumped to his feet and ran after the others. "Guys! Seven collapsed! Tom!"

"What?" Tom and Chakotay met him in the midsection.

"Seven collapsed!" repeated Harry, leading them back down to the unconscious ex-drone. She hadn't moved a muscle, still sprawled as he left her on the floor, her hair half over her face and one arm tucked behind her.

"Seven, are you in there?" Tom was the first to her, crouching down and taking her pulse. He gently tugged her other arm out from beneath her, giving her cheek an ineffective pat. "Come on, Sister.. time to wake up!"

The blonde remained unresponsive, her only movement the subtle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

"She's not..?" Harry asked pensively, backing up a step.

"No, her heartbeat is slow, but it is steady." said Tom. "We should move her to-"

His words were swallowed by the sudden rise of noise as whatever beat on the hull doubled their effort. The sound quickly became loud enough to be painful, causing the three men to clap their hands over their ears. Between them, Seven frowned, her eyebrows drawing together as the auditory levels were enough to partially rouse her. Tom tried to yell out to Chakotay and Harry, but there was no hearing him. Finally, he began to lift Seven by her shoulders. Chakotay caught on fast, easily lifting the blonde woman up and carrying her back up to the cockpit. The second the three men were out of the aft and into the midsection, the world fell silent but for the tinny ringing in their ears.

"Oh, Kahless- they're back.." B'Elanna stammered. She was sitting in the corner of the cockpit at the foot of where Seven and Chakotay had been bedding down, knees drawn up as close to her chest as they would go around her belly, and her arms hugging across her chest. Her eyes were turned up to the cockpit, leading the three men to glance that way, too. "They left- all but me- when you went back to the back.."

The five dopplegangers were perched on the edge of the Flyer's windscreen like grim gargoyles, eyes scrolling wildly this way and that. Though they never made full eye contact with the humans they were copying, each human could feel them watching. For a few thudding heartbeats, nobody moved, the humans struck dumb by the sight and situation.

Chakotay was the first to move, Seven's weight pulling the muscles in his arms. He laid her down beside where B'Elanna crouched before feeling her forehead with the back of his fingers. "She's hot again, Tom." he said softly before rearranging her arms into a more comfortable position. Her eyebrows drew into a frown again as he touched her left arm, weakly tugging it back off of her belly as he had laid it, so that it flopped palm-up beside her.

"Again? So soon?" Harry mumbled, stumbling down to the opposite wall, eyes above him on the doubles, and taking a seat there.

"Crap." hissed the field medic, pulling his eyes down to hunt up the tricorder and run its sensor over Seven's head. "You're right. She's back to a hundred and two again."

"Where's the.. the.." Harry began absently, his attention still mostly devoted skyward. "That panel at?"

"Leaned up beside you." answered Chakotay tiredly, plopping down beside Seven's head. "But we don't have the spare water now to douse her."

"They're not going to let us go to the back." B'Elanna whispered, warily watching the five heads above them. "Every time we try, they beat the walls in."

"I can't stay up here like this." whispered Harry with a gulp. "With them just... watching us like that.."

"It's making my skin crawl." B'Elanna shook as a rigor vibrated its way through her form. "Ugh.."

"Right." Tom hissed a breath, tucking his legs under him and lifting up onto his knees. "Harry, come help me."

"What?" Harry started at the summons, his eyes swivelling from the window to the helmsman.

"What are you doing, Tom?" asked Chakotay, watching Tom grab the pile of blankets from beside the bedding Seven laid out on. "Tom."

"I can't stand to be stared at like this. Like a fish in a bowl. I can't take it. B'Elanna can't take it. So I'm fixing it." he answered, shaking out one of the blankets.

"Fixing it, how?" asked Harry, getting up on his knees and crawling to beside the blonde man. "What are you doing with the blankets?"

"I'm building a fort." answered Tom.

B'Elanna hissed an irritated breath. "Where's the tricorder? My husband has lost it."

"No I haven't." returned Tom. "Just watch. Actually, hand me that broken capacitator." He gestured to the round hunk of Flyer guts in the corner near B'Elanna. When she tossed it warily to him, he used it to anchor one corner of the blanket to what was left of tactical. He grabbed up another piece of heavy metal from the floorboard to anchor the other corner across to the opps console. "See?" He said, anchoring the last two corners. "We can string up the other blankets and put a bit of a barrier between us."

"What if they don't like it?" asked B'Elanna, her eyes scrolling back up to their dopplegangers. The five heads stared back, their chameleon eyes scrolling from one prisoner to the other in rapid succession.

"Then they can stuff it." Harry answered with a bit more feeling, the fort idea growing on him. Chakotay joined them, stringing up two more blankets, threading their corners through jagged bits on the walls. Within a few minutes, the group could sit more comfortably, the horror above them out of sight even if it wasn't out of mind.

 **XXX**

"Captain, you should come and take a look at this." Ayala's voice cut through the tense silence on the bridge like a hot knife through butter.

Kathryn barely kept herself from jerking at the intrusion of sound. After one, deep, calming breath, she turned in her chair to face the opps station. She managed a wan smile. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

Roberto Ayala ducked his head apologetically, but pressed on. "The readings I'm getting from the planet, Captain.." A slightly flummoxed scowl took over his face as he skimmed over the information at his fingertips once more. "They are very strange."

Interest piqued, Kathryn stood and quickly rounded the rail. "Strange? How so?" She joined him at the console, eyes quickly sweeping over the swiftly scrolling font.

"We don't read the Flyer." answered the ex-Maquis. "It's like it just isn't there anymore."

"Isn't there?!" Kathryn glanced over to Tuvok. The Vulcan was watching them with his usually stoic face. At her frown, he raised one pointed eyebrow. "What about lifesigns? Emissions? If they managed to get off the-"

"No, Captain," Ayala gently cut her off, brushing his fingers over the smooth glass to bring up a new set of statistics. "The away team is still down there. Their lifesigns are.. weak.. but they are definitely there."

"Where, exactly, is there?"

Ayala pointed to the little overview of the continent that the lifesigns were reading on. "Here." He outlined the swirling black cloud covering the area with the lifesigns. "But there is this huge cloud here. I'm sure it is radiation simply by how it is interfering with the sensors, but it is unlike anything we have come across. The computer cannot identify it."

"And we can barely scan through whatever this is that is blanketing the away team?"

"Affirmative." said Tuvok, readjusting his sensors yet again to see if they could somehow better penetrate whatever the swirling mass was.

Kathryn's frown dropping into a scowl. "Try reconfiguring the sensors then. Maybe we will get lucky." She glanced at Ayala. "Send your data to my ready room." She quickly made her way to the little door below Tuvok's station. "Alert me of any changes- and someone bring me that professor. Let's see if he knows anything. Tuvok, you have the bridge."

 **XXX**

"Come on, _Querida.._ " Chakotay murmured patiently, pulling her up to lean against him, her back against his chest and her head resting back on his shoulder behind her. He held up the little canteen of water- the last of his water- and dribbled some of it past her parted lips. She moaned weakly, but swallowed before turning her face into his neck. "No, you're not done, yet.."

"She needs an old-school IV." Tom said, his brows drawn as he watched, tricorder out and scanning. "Unfortunately, I don't have any way to get or make one, so she's going to have to drink."

"No.." whimpered the blonde, turning her head away from the offered canteen.

"I can't hold her down by myself." said the commander, his eyes tired as they met Tom's. "She'll just choke."

Harry sighed. "If we had a tube small enough, we could stick it down her-"

B'Elanna flicked Harry's arm, worriedly watching the ex-drone. "Harry.."

The younger man scowled. "What? They used to do it hundreds of years ago."

"We could use some low-tech stuff like that right now." Tom lamented. "Of course, I'd take sickbay over all that twentieth century stuff right now."

"Tom Paris.. turning his back on the twentieth century.." B'Elanna clucked her tongue, attempting humor. When the pilot smirked at her, she smiled back.

"Seven, you're going to have to drink." Chakotay let out a long sigh, his eyes flicking to the others before he held out the canteen to Tom. When Tom accepted the container, Chakotay snaked his hands around Seven's middle, crossing her arms and holding tight to her wrists.

Tom sat up on his knees, crawling up to the two so that he was in front of Seven. "Alright, Sister," he began in a sing-song voice. "Here comes the little Flyer into the shuttle bay.." Azure blue eyes squinted open to look at him, focusing on his eyes before circling his face in slight confusion. He offered her a reassuring smile. "You gotta drink some water, Sister."

B'Elanna got up on her knees beside him, moving over and brushing a strand of blonde behind Seven's ears before cupping her hands around the blonde's head. "Here, Tom."

"No." Seven tried to turn her head, but the half-Klingon held firm. When the water was put to her lips it was drink or drown. She swallowed once before clamping her mouth shut with another whimper. When Tom sighed, pulling the water away, B'Elanna released her, and the weak blonde turned her head back to Chakotay's throat. "Leave me.. No more.. feel.. s-sick.."

"You might feel better if you were hydrated." Chakotay murmured, releasing her hands.

Above them, something drummed on the glass, nails on a chalkboard squeaking interlaced with the staccato beat of one of the creature's claws. The humans froze, four lucid sets of eyes scrolling up to the silver fabric that separated them from the glass, halfway wishing for xray vision to see through it if only to know the creatures hadn't found a way in yet. Harry looked to the bit of window he could see on the side of the shuttle between the flap of fabric strung above him, and grimaced. Something red, streaked with black, and slimy had dribbled down across it, painting the woods outside a macabre dark pink.

"There's no way in." B'Elanna murmured to herself. "There's no way through the glass without a phaser, right?"

"Right." Tom soothed, reaching out to her and taking one of her warm hands in his.

"This is ridiculous." Harry glowered at the pink woods.

"So.." Tom wrung his hands around B'Elanna's. "Who's up for some cards?"

"Cards?" Chakotay snorted, leaning back against the bulkhead behind him, Seven still propped against him. "I think I've had all the cards I can take."

"Just because I beat you three rounds.." teased the pilot. He moved back towards the other side of the cockpit, giving B'Elanna's hand a squeeze before letting go. "Nothing else to do. Food is gone. Water is almost gone. It's hot as hell in here. Can't go outside because the Spook Troup is out there. Can't go in the aft unless we want to burst our ear drums."

"Now, Tom, it isn't all bad." Harry half-hissed, his expression sour. "You forgot the part about Voyager coming to rescue us all about ten minutes after Seven bleeds out and we all get eaten."

"My head is killing me." B'Elanna mumbled, bringing her hands up to cup over her forehead. "Can we not fight for five minutes?"

"The Klingon doesn't want to fight?" Harry rolled his eyes.

B'Elanna dropped her hands, giving the younger man a dark look. "The Klingon is pregnant and miserable and is about five minutes away from chucking your ass out the back door for a little peace and quiet!"

"Your head hurts?" Tom's concern piqued. He pulled the tricorder back out and ran the scanner over his wife. "You're getting dehydrated." The scanner was unceremoniously dropped before Tom scurried back to the line of canteens along the wall. He picked up his and held it out to her. "Here, drink this."

"And what are you going to drink?" she asked, taking it from him but not opening it.

"Satisfaction." he answered, "Knowing that my wife and child didn't die so that I could have a sip of water."

"Here." Chakotay held out the half-full canteen to B'Elanna with a sigh. "I can't make Seven drink it. Don't risk the baby."

" _..pobrecito.._ " Seven mumbled. " _..är du törstig, lite..?_ "

"Have some of mine, too." said Harry with a sigh, gesturing to his canteen leaned up against the wall. "I had a big swig a little while ago."

B'Elanna gave him an affectionate smile. "You're sweet, Starfleet." she said, "If you're not careful, you'll give us all cavities."

"Oh, ha-ha, Maquis."

 **XXX**

The sharp chime of the doorbell drew Kathryn's attention away from the mini console on her desk. Settling her long-empty mug down beside her lucky teacup, superstitiously settled on the corner of the desk, she couldn't resist running a finger around the gilded china rim before answering the hail with a commanding, "Come in."

The doors swished open, revealing Tuvok leading the bushy-haired professor. They stepped into the room and approached the desk. "Professor Menton to see you, Captain." said the chief security officer stoicly, standing casually at attention, eyebrows at low tide.

"Thank you, Commander." said the Captain, straightening her back.

"Your Commander tells me that you have some interesting readings for me to look at?" said the professor, taking hold of his purple labcoat by the lapels and wiggling his bushy mustache.

The Captain stood with a nod, turning her small console around. "I have." she confirmed. "Our sensors have detected some sort of radiation cloud that is covering the area where our away team crashed." The professor bent down to examine the screen, his bushy eyebrows wiggling along with his mustache as he squinted at the screen. The Captain was briefly reminded of several caterpillars wriggling along a tree branch a lifetime ago in Bloomington. She shook the thought from her head, but the wistful smile wasn't so quick to bleed away. "It is interfering with our sensors. I wondered if you had encountered it before."

"I believe," the professor began, standing up and rubbing his eyes. "That my eyes are not as young as they once were." He gestured to her console. "My dear, do you have a.. larger screen?"

Kathryn kept her eyebrows from raising. "Oh, uh, yes, of course." She glanced at Tuvok. "Let's go to the briefing room."

"Yes, Captain." said the Vulcan. He turned his eyes to the professor. "This way, Professor."

Once inside the brightgly lit briefing room, Kathryn had the same information pulled up on the larger viewing screen. She pointed again to the black cloud. "See this? This is the radiation cloud I am talking about. We can see lifesigns through it, but we can't detect our shuttle."

The professor nodded, pulling at his purple lapels again. "Yes, yes. We have come across readings similar to this, Captain." he said, his mustache wiggling with every word. "Some strange radiation that seems to move about the planet's surface, never staying in one place too long." He turned to face the Captain fully. "We believe this is the creature.. Captain, if the creature is that close to your people, I fear they are long gone from you."

Kathryn shook her head. "I'm still not convinced there is any creature."

Before her, the professor seemed to puff up like a ruffled chicken, coming to full height and puffing out his chest in astonishment. "No creature?" he all but squawked. "Why, the very idea.." He shook his head, caterpillar eyebrows drawing to meet over his pocked nose. "Just you wait, Captain," he warned. "Just you wait and then you will see. I'm only sorry that it will come at the expense of your crewmen."

A flame of anger lit in her chest at his words- words she didn't want to give flesh to by thinking them into being- but she didn't allow it to be shown on her face. The command mask slammed itself back into place with enough force to give a weaker person whiplash. Steel grey eyes turned from the poofed out professor to her most trusted officer. "Commander, see that the Professor is escorted back to the VIP quarters, and that he has a good meal. Make him comfortable." Her attention turned to the Tinvarii. "I will alert you when we arrive." With that, she rounded the table, heading for her bridge. "I'll be in my ready room."

 **XXX**

Afternoon slowly dragged into early evening, time seeming to slow down during their captivity. The cockpit was nearly silent but for the shuffling of cards as Chakotay and Tom absently played War against the opps console and the occasional click or scrape of a set of claws above them. Behind tactical, B'Elanna laid out next to an unconscious Seven, boredly watching the boys play cards. Off in his own world in the far corner, Harry kept his eyes on the little swath of window beside opps, a piece of wire from beneath the helm twisting back and forth around one fist and then the other. The temperature in the Flyer had been hot and humid for most of the day, but now it was becoming cool as the sun began to set.

"One, two, three- war." Tom mumbled, laying his cards out, turning the top face-up, and smiling at the king staring up at him. He looked expectantly to Chakotay.

The older man's look was more resigned. With a sigh, he laid out his own cards. "..two, three- war." With a snort, he flicked his top card into Tom's lap.

Tom lifted the card and turned it over. With a growl he flicked the ace back at Chakotay. "Fine- have them!" he grunted, pushing the last of his cards towards the commander.

Chakotay chuckled, gathering the cards up to be reshuffled. "Would you rather play something else?"

"Not really." said the helmrat, leaning back against the console's support, eyes turned up to the silver blanket separating them from the eyes of the creatures trying to wait them out.

"Tired." murmured B'Elanna, curling closer to Seven's side and letting her eyes fall shut. The headache behind the bridge of her nose was spreading up behind her ridges, making it hard to focus her eyes. A persistently dull pain in her hips and lower back like she'd pulled a muscle kept her from being comfortable, and that coupled with her headache made her irritable and tired. "Can we just go to sleep?"

"I don't think I can sleep knowing they're up there." mumbled Harry, not turning his face from the window.

"We should try." said Tom. "I mean, what else is there to do? Chakotay's a card shark anyway."

"How can you be a card shark at War?" protested the commander. "It's a game of chance, not skill."

"Yeah, yeah." Tom smirked, gesturing dismissively. "You can play War with Harry. I'm going to lay down."

Chakotay sighed with a nod. "I don't know if its the dehydration or the starvation, but I'm up for laying down, too. My head is starting to hurt."

"Mine kills." commented B'Elanna, eyes still shut as she massaged her ridges with one hand, ignoring her aching back.

"Water's gone." Harry snorted. "At least if we die, those stupid monsters can't get in here to eat us. Maybe they will starve, too."

"Oh, Harry," said Tom, taking the cards from Chakotay to put away in their box. "I'm sure they have plenty of dinophants to eat out there."

"And a whole river to drink." groused the commander, scooting back beside Seven before laying out, ankles crossed and arms behind his head for a pillow.

"I hope they fall in and drown."

Tom snorted. "That's the spirit, Harry." He joined Chakotay on the floor. "Come on, Buster. Beddy-bye-time."

"I told you, I-"

"Don't make me pull rank on you." Tom sighed, suddenly looking as tired and irritable as he felt, the jovial mask falling away as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just come lay down and try. You're wasting energy being awake. You're not thirsty or hungry when you sleep."

"Harry," B'Elanna mumbled absently, sleep already beginning to take her. "..please?"

The young ensign finally pulled his eyes from the window to look down at his crewmates. B'Elanna was nearly as pale as Seven, and laid nearly as still. Chakotay and Tom were both flushed, their skin dry and splotched. His own mouth felt stuffed with cotton- he was sure that so did theirs. With a raspy, dry sigh, he tossed his piece of wire into the corner and laid out beside Tom. "Fine, fine.." he whispered. "I'd rather die in my sleep anyway."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that, Harry."

 **XXX**

 **So how was it? Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~Lady Mage**

 **Translations:**

" _..pobrecito.._ " Seven mumbled. " _..är du törstig, lite..?_ "

 **"..poor little thing.." Seven mumbled. "..are you thirsty, little one..?"**


	19. Chapter 19

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hello and welcome to chapter 19! It's been a month since I updated! So many things have happened and been written since then.. I've got at least seven other stories I'm lining out to eventually post, but this one here- my baby- is almost finished. One more chapter, guys! Anyway, thank you so much to all my readers and my reviewers! I love hearing from you- I really do! A good review can make or break your day, let me tell you! Special thank you to Scifiromance, Starshine, and Wayamoon for listening to my crazy ideas and letting me tell them a story! Love you guys!**

 **If you haven't yet, definitely make it a point to check out the latest chapter of 'The Gift' by Scifiromance, and give her new story, 'Just Desserts' a read! They are both AWESOME!**

 **OBLIGATORY LEGALITIES: After this one... they will be bending over and thanking their lucky stars that I do not own them...**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~LM**

 **XXX**

 _"Just a little bit to.. the.. left.." Captain Proton let out a relieved sigh as a gentle shudder ran through his rocketship at the landing. "And there."_

 _"Another brilliant landing, Captain Proton." said Constance Goodheart, tossing her brunette hair over her shoulder and coming to stand beside him. He took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles before leaning around the swell of her stomach to finish the landing sequence._

 _"What is our mission here, Captain?" asked Buster Kinkaide, spinning the dial on the console to lock down the landing gear._

 _"We are here to help the monarch." said Captain Proton, turning the key to turn off the rocketship engines. "The Queen and King have requested our assistance." A sharp knock came on the side doors of the cockpit. "Ah, that must be them." He gave Constance's hand a quick squeeze before hurrying to push the button to admit their new guests. Even his breath caught at the sight that greeted them._

 _A delicate hand reached out and rested on the side of the doorway as electric blue eyes swept curiously over the room. The queen took a step inside, her midnight blue gown and petticoats swishing softly with each step. Her gown was tight across her bodice, accentuating a full bosom and full hips, and dotted with clear jewels like diamond teardrops. A matching velvet cape lined with silver was held in place by a delicate silver chain across her collarbones. Inside the room, she carefully lifted her hood back, revealing a bounty of blonde ringlets framing a face as white as snow that shone under the thin layer of ice that covered all of her visible skin. Crowning the queen's head was an intricate icy crown of snowflakes. Electric blue eyes turned to the man who had given her entrance. "Captain Proton, I presume?"_

 _"At your service, your Majesty." said Proton, bowing before the queen. He frowned slightly. "And, the King, your majesty? Is he meeting with us?"_

 _"All in good time." said a gentle barritone behind the Queen. The King stepped up behind his queen, her polar opposite in every way. Where she was pale and delicate he was tan and robust. A blood-red doublet over an inky black tunic graced his broad chest, studded with shiny gold buttons and licked by embroidered yellow and orange flames. His breeches were black velvet and capped by red leather shoes. A red velvet cape lined with black silk was held around his shoulders by a heavy golden chain that shone like firelight in the artifical illimination of the cockpit. When he lifted his hood back, his hair was as black as his breeches and the bold tattoo across his brow. His crown was golden flame studded with blood-red jewels. His chocolate brown eyes met the electric blue of his queen, giving her a smile before turning his attention to the astronaut before her. "Captain Proton?"_

 _"Yes, your Majesty." confirmed Proton, bowing again. "Welcome to my rocketship."_

 _Behind him, Constance curtsied and Buster bowed. "Your Majesties."_

 _"Thank you for responding to our hails so quickly." said the queen, clutching her hands together over her abdomen. "We are in quite dire straights."_

 _"What my Queen says is true." said the king. "We are dangerously low on power. With the war against the Cardassian Federation, families have been broken apart. Many lives were lost. Now, mothers struggle to feed their children, fathers have left home to find work elsewhere in the star system."_

 _The queen bowed her head. "Children go hungry in the streets, Captain Proton.. we desperately need your help."_

 _"Children?" Constance frowned in sympathy._

 _The King nodded, placing a grounding hand on the small of his queen's back. "Children are always the ones hit the hardest in war."_

 _"I'll do everything in my power to help you, your majesties." said Proton, his face set in determination. "Just tell me what we must do."_

 _"There is a planet not far from here." said the queen, walking up to the console beside Constance and Buster. "It has a great power source locked away on it that our ancestors left before us." She turned imploring eyes to Buster. "We must retrieve it. Before it is too late."_

 _"Our planet is frozen." explained the King. "And home to two peoples. My queen's people are of metal and ice. The cold will not damage them, but the hunger will. My people are of flesh and blood.. they will be the first to die should the power run out. We should leave quickly."_

 _Captain Proton nodded determinedly. "Let's go!"_

 _The trip to the planet was fairly quick. Buster and Proton spent their time flying the rocketship, trying their hardest to push the ship to its limits for speed. The sooner they made it to the planet, the quicker the people of Planet Seven could be saved. Constance and the Queen sat together in the command chairs. The King kept his eyes warily on his Queen, glancing now and then at the windscreen to guage their position._

 _Suddenly, a shrill beeping rang through the cockpit. Buster ran to the imagiser, pressing a sequence of buttons to bring up a grainy picture on its screen. "We're receiving a transmission, Captian!"_

 _Captain Proton joined his sidekick at the screen. "Who is it from, Buster?"_

 _"I can't tell.. the picture is too grainy." answered Buster. He reached out and slapped the side of the imagiser with an open palm. The grainy picture began to sharpen, the picture rolling for a few tense heartbeats before it finally cleared, revealing a familiar face._

 _"CAPTAIN PROTON!" Doctor Chaotica's arrogant smirk can through in crisp HD. "Surrender your ship and the royalty on it, or I will destroy the planet and its power source along with it!"_

 _"No! You can't!" The Queen walked briskly to the screen, the King at her heels. "If you destroy the power source, an entire planet will die!"_

 _Doctor Chaotica laughed and evil laugh, mirrored behind him by Satan's Robot and an assortment of henchmen. "Oh, my dear, dear Queen.." he began with a smirk, "If only I were not already promised to Arachnia.. I am sure we would have been able to work out.. something to save your people." He laughed again. "But, alas, it is not to be."_

 _"What do you want, Chaotica?" demanded Proton._

 _The evil Doctor sobered before another smirk twisted his lips. "Why, Proton.. you know what I want: your surrender!"_

 _"Never!" hissed Constance, taking Proton's hand in her own. "We will never surrender to the likes of you, you-you-you_ petaQ _!"_

 _Chaotica's smile dropped for a heartbeat before he gave her a sour look. "I liked you better when all you did was scream all the time."_

 _"Captain," the King pulled Proton aside, meeting the younger man's eyes imploringly. "If we can make it to the planet before this Chaotica guy then we can use the power source to defeat him. All we have to do is outrun him!"_

 _Proton looked over to Buster. "How long until we are to the planet?"_

 _"At our present speed.." Buster looked over the readings on his console. "Twenty minutes. Tops."_

 _"Chaotica is behind us. We have a head start!" Proton reached out and pushed the overdrive button. The rocketship shuddered once as it ratcheted up the speed. Proton turned to the screen where the evil Doctor was impatiently waiting. "You'll have to beat us to the planet to get that power source, Chaotica! Your ship is no match for mine!"_

 _Again, the evil madman cackled heartily. "Now, you see, Proton, that is where you are WRONG! I have come up with the most genius of genius inventions! I have hooked up Satan's Robot to my engines, using his advanced technology to double my speed!" With another cackle he turned to his henchmen behind him. "LONZAK! HOOK UP ZE ROBOT!"_

 _Buster's eyes boggled as he watched the readings on his screen. "Captain, he's gaining on us! He's coming up fast on the starboard side! At the rate of speed he's going, he will reach the planet in.. ten minutes!"_

 _"We don't have enough power!" worried Constance, wringing her hands._

 _"If only we had a secret weapon to boost our engines!" Buster beat one fist down on the console in frustration._

 _The Queen gasped, one hand reaching out to touch Proton's arm. "But we do!"_

 _"No, my Queen!" The King jerked, looking at his Queen as though she had betrayed him. "You cannot!"_

 _She continued on, ignoring him. "You must take.. my own power source." the Queen said soflty, her voice mournful. She looked over to her King, soulful azure meeting warm sienna. "It is the only way."_

 _"What do you mean?" asked Buster, looking up from the console. "What power source?"_

 _"Don't listen to her." said the King, waving off the concerned side-kick without taking his eyes from the Queen's. "_ Querida _," he murmured to her. "You needn't do this."_

 _"But I must." she murmured back, allowing him to pull her in closer to him. "We must reach the planet before Doctor Chaotica or our people will die." She bowed her head, unable to meet his eyes. "I cannot allow that."_

 _"What power source?" asked Captain Proton, turning and working furiously on the controls to try to buy them time. "If you have some ace up your sleeve to boost our power and speed us up, now would be the time to reveal it."_

 _The Queen smiled mirthlessly. "Well, it isn't up my sleeve."_

 _"Less cryptic?" asked Buster._

 _"She means her heart." said the King, his voice frustrated. He turned to glare at Proton, his expression letting the Captain know that the idea was off the table._

 _Constance scowled. "Her heart?"_

 _"My heart is a small reactor." explained the queen. "If you can hook it up to the engine core, it will give us the boost we need to beat Chaotica to the planet. Please.. my people's fate rests in your hands.."_

 _"And how are we supposed to remove this reactor-" asked Constance, her face concerned. "-without hurting you?"_

 _"I am afraid that hurting me cannot be helped." said the Queen somberly. She lifted one hand to her chest, the icy skin laced over with gleaming silver metal, and pressed it against her breastbone. At once, she whimpered in pain, the ice over her skin beginning to crack. "My pain will be short- make sure that my people's lives are.. are long!" She cried out once before biting her lip._

 _The King's eyes softened in concern as he gently reached out and stopped her hand. The spiderweb of cracks across the frozen skin of her chest pulsed a soft, glowing white light with each heartbeat. "No,_ Querida _." he said softly to her, pulling her body close to him. "Please.."_

 _"I must." she whispered. "There is no other way." She brushed her fingertips across the cracks, wincing in pain._

 _The King sighed, leaning his forehead down to meet her own. "If you must,_ mi amor _-_ mi vida _.." he whispered, "Don't do it this way.. I can't bear to see you hurt.."_

 _"It can't be helped.."_

 _He shook his head, tenderly lifting her fingertips from the painful icy cracks. "It can."_

 _Her fingertips were brought to his lips, a flash of cold on heat. Proton, Constance, and Buster turned to watch the exchange, the gravity of the Queen's sacrifice weighing heavily on them as they realized just what the Queen meant to do. The King held his Queen close, her stomach flush to his, and gently- reverently- settled his tan palm over her heart. Beneath it, the ice immediately began to melt, running in silver rivulets down the front of her gown. The Queen gasped softly at the brief sensation of warmth before her eyes rolled up in her head. Her body fell slack as a tiny compartment clicked open beneath the King's hand._

 _"Oh,_ mi vida _.." he whispered as the palm-sized reactor fell into his hand. Before he could change his mind, he held the silver oval out to Captain Proton. "Here." he said, his voice soft, but unbroken. Dark ochre eyes met baby blue. "Don't let her sacrifice be in vain."_

 _Proton nodded, taking the small reactor. "I won't." he vowed._

 _With a nod, the King slowly settled himself on the floor, the Queen's body still held tightly in his lap. Turning from the mourning King, Proton examined the heart in his hands closely. As he turned it over in his hands, it clicked before letting out a loud-_

 **XXX**

* _chirrup..._ *

Tom groaned, his head pounding and his tongue thick in his mouth. He raised his arm up from where it lay across his belly, and used it to rub his aching brow. The morose fantasy from his dreams was quickly slipping away, the living nightmare of their dire situation washing over him like old bathwater. With a sigh, he forced open his dry eyes.

* _chirrup... chirrup... chirrup..._ *

As the familiar noise registered in his brain, the pilot jerked. Wrenching his body over, he scuttled on hands and knees to the front of the flyer, searching frantically for the source of the noise.

Harry, behind him, yelled out as Tom passed, one of the pilot's boots having knocked his head as he passed. "Ow! Damnit, Tom!"

"Harry, help me!" Tom hissed, digging through the bits of console and decking insulation.

"Help you, what?" groused the ensign.

* _chirrup..._ *

Harry's eyes widened. "Is that.. is that a-?"

"It's a working com badge! Help me find it- it's buried somewhere.." Tom shifted another bit of decking, fishing around beneath it for the familiar smooth metal. Harry scrambled to his side, lifting the plating so that Tom could fish beneath it.

"What are you doing?" B'Elanna half-moaned from the bedding.

"Com badge! Where is it?" Harry hefted up the next piece of decking while Tom fished under it.

"What?" Chakotay asked drowsily.

* _chirrup..._ *

B'Elanna physically jerked. "Is that-?"

"And active com?!" Chakotay crawled over Seven and B'Elanna, joining Tom and Harry.

 ***** _"..-oyager to.. -eam.. read us..?"_ *****

"Holy shit- where the fuck-?!" Tom's hands finally landed on something small and round and smooth. He closed his fist over it before dragging it up through the broken bits of shuttle and into the early morning light. "I found it!"

 ***** _"..you read... -repeat, Voyager to-.."_ *****

 **XXX**

"I repeat," Captain Kathryn Janeway paced across the bridge in front of her command chair, trying to ignore the pompous professor sitting in Chakotay's seat. "Voyager to away team- do you read us?" She turned to Ayala at opps. "Loop that- all subspace frequencies."

"Yes, Captain."

The professor sat with his arms crossed, his fuzzy mustache wiggling as he muttered under his breath. The Captain rolled her eyes. Let him be mad with her- it would do him little good. Once she had her crew back, the professor would be dropped off and they would continue on pretending none of this had ever happened. The Tinvarii could keep their damn dilithium and their shore leave- they weren't the only star system in the galaxy.

Kathryn crossed her arms over her chest as she paced, her worry turning to ire as she turned and snapped out. "Are they still down there?! Ayala, report!"

Tuvok's voice answered, his even, logical tone enough to temporarily balm her temper. "There are still five life signs in the radiation fog, Captain."

"Is the radiation blocking our com signal?"

"It may be scrambling it somewhat, Captain," Ayala began, "But I can see it is being received."

"But being heard is another thing." said Tuvok. "If their badges are malfunctioning or if they do not have their badges on, they won't receive the message."

"All we can do it wait." finished Ayala. "And hope they answer."

The professor harumphed. "Or that they are capable of answering."

The Captain whirled on him, her crossed arms uncrossing to form fists at her sides. "I could do with just a little less pessimism, Professor." she half-hissed. "I don't know about your people but mine prefer to look on the brighter side of things!"

The professor scrunched his brow, the caterpillars meeting over his nose, but he kept rapturously silent.

 **XXX**

"Delta Flyer to Voyager!" Tom said into the little badge. "Voyager, do you read me?"

"Respond, damnit.." muttered B'Elanna, taking the badge. Just as soon as she had it in her palm, a burning ache made its way from her tailbone up forward to her bellybutton. She winced in pain, holding the badge out to Chakotay to hug her arms around her belly. "Tom..?"

"What's wrong?" Tom asked, reaching his hands out and placing them on either side of her stomach. "B'Elanna?"

"Been having pains since last night." B'Elanna answered, letting him lift her shirt up over the rounded swell of her belly before gently palpating his way around it. "That was the worst one." Tom glanced at Chakotay tinkering with the com badge before turning to grab the tricorder to check over his pregnant wife.

Chakotay clicked the little panel back into place on the badge and gave it an experimental tap. "Delta Flyer to Voyager- do you read me?" Nothing but static followed. "Chakotay to Voyager? Anyone up there?"

Harry sighed, disappointed, sitting back on his heels and staring at the little gold charm. "Please don't tell me I imagined that."

"Or the creatures didn't mimic the noise to trick us." Chakotay sighed.

"Oh shit." Tom dropped the tricorder as B'Elanna whimpered, another pain shooting across her abdomen. "Babe, you're going into labor."

The half-Klingon's eyes shot open. "What? Now? I'm not due for-"

"I know!" Tom scrambled to the medkit beside Seven's bed, throwing it open and yanking out the hypospray. "Come on... come on.." he mumbled, scrolling through the list of formulas on the hypo's small interface. Finally, he settled on one, scuttling back to B'Elanna's side and quickly injecting her with it. "Come lay down, 'Lanna." he said worriedly, giving her arm a gentle tug. "Magnesium sulfate should slow your contractions down, but you need to lay down and be still while it works."

"What if it doesn't stop it?" asked B'Elanna, her voice tense, as she walked on her knees back to the line of bedding. "Tom, she's not-"

"It will, it will." assured the blonde medic, balling up his blanket and putting it under his wife's head as she laid down beside Seven's unconscious form. "It's going to be okay, babe." He leaned down and placed a kiss on the peak of her belly. "Promise."

"Delta Flyer to Voyager." Chakotay tried again. "Voyager, do you read?"

Harry watched moisture gather in the corner of B'Elanna's eye from where he sat watching. Crossing his arms, he sank back against the console behind him. "It must have been the creatures.."

"You don't know that." Tom half-hissed at him. "Take your cynicism and shove it, Harry! I'm sick of listening to it!"

The ensign glared at Tom, speaking through clenched teeth. "And just what are you going to do about it?"

"Tom." A soft hand on Tom's arm cut off his hateful retort, pulling his attention back to B'Elanna. "Don't."

"Yeah, Tom." Harry baited.

The blonde pilot gave Harry one last glower before turning his back on him, his full attention on his wife. "It's gonna be okay, B'Elanna." he said with a forced smile.

"You're a horrible liar." murmured B'Elanna with a sigh, cupping her hands over her stomach.

"Damnit.." Chakotay fiddled with the badge in his hand again. "Tom, I need your help."

"What?"

Chakotay gestured to the badge. "I don't have a microfilament on me and my fingers are too big to turn the amplifier up on this thing." He tossed it to Tom. "See if you can do it."

B'Elanna immediately took the badge from Tom's hands, making short work of modifying the tiny device with practiced fingers. "Now.." she clicked the badge. "Delta Flyer to.." Another pain burned its way across her stomach, cutting off her words as she bit her lip to keep from whimpering. " _Ghuy'cha.._ "

The device was plucked from her hands by Chakotay so that Tom could tend to her. He held the badge up to his face. "Delta Flyer to Voyager.. do you read, Voyager?"

"I'm going to give you another dose." Tom murmured, lifting the hypospray back to B'Elanna's neck. "Just lay still."

"It was the creatures!" Harry hissed. "Voyager isn't coming for us and you all know it." Lightning quick, he grabbed the little badge from Chakotay's hand and hurled it against the closed midsection door. "We're going to die here!"

A dark frown came over Chakotay's face, his eyes darkening as he grabbed Harry by the arm. "Harry, you fucking-"

 ***** _"-yager, we read you.. -d and clear.. -ta Flyer.. -you there?"_ *****

The three men stopped, bodies tensed as they turned to meet each other's eyes. As one, they shifted, each throwing themselves towards the glinting bit of metal on the floor, pouncing like starving cats on a morsel of food. Tom, being closer, reached it first, holding it up. "We're here!"

 **XXX**

The comm was static and loud over the speakers, randomly clicking and sizzling with interference from the large radiation cloud. Kathryn had paced as long as she could stand to. Now she stood beside Tuvok's station, her fingertips drumming on the trim around the console as she read over his shoulder. The chief security officer, used to his captain's moods, simply stayed a half step to his right to make room for her to watch the scrolling information without crowding him. Roberto Ayala watched his own scrolling readings like a hawk, looking for anything that resembled a response- no matter how scrambled. Icheb and Samantha Wildman shared the science station, watching the swirling radiation cloud with the same focused energy.

The noise level in the static suddenly ratcheted up. Ayala didn't have time to do more than look up from his station before the speakers quietened.

 ***** _"We're here!"_ *****

There was a collective gasp across the bridge, everyone looking up in surprise as Tom's voice came through loud and clear. Kathryn hurried down to the platform in front of her command chair. "Tom?"

 ***** _"I'm here, Captain."_ ***** The comm crackled loudly, a distortion sending loud rippling quivers through the speakers. ***** _"We're all here."_ *****

"You're all okay?"

 ***** _"We're all alive."_ ***** Tom corrected. ***** _"But Seven and B'Elanna need immediate medical attention. Chakotay, Harry, and I are okay. Dehydrated, but okay."_ *****

"What happened to Seven and B'Elanna?" Kathryn turned and looked at Tuvok. "Tell the Doctor to come to the bridge."

 **XXX**

Tom looked over at the unconscious drone. Her breathing was shallow, her chest barely moving with each breath. Next to her, B'Elanna turned on her side, one hand cupped over her belly and the other one reaching out to take Tom's empty hand. Tom raised the comm badge back up. "Seven hasn't regenerated in.."

"Twelve days." B'Elanna half groaned. Chakotay winced at the reminder, his eyes leaving the lifeline badge in Tom's grasp to focus on Seven's still face.

Tom nodded once. "For twelve days."

 **XXX**

" _TWELVE DAYS?!_ " The Doctor stopped so hard and so fast on his trip down the steps to the Captain's platform that his matrix blinked. He crossed the platform to Kathryn in two steps, his eyes up to the ceiling and the microphone embedded there. "And she is still alive?!"

 ***** _"Barely."_ ***** Harry's voice came over the speakers, his tone bleak. ***** _"She's not gonna make it."_ *****

 ***** _"Fuck you, Harry."_ ***** Chakotay hissed.

The sharp look Kathryn shot to the microphone went unnoticed. "We are doing everything we can to get you out, but you are sitting in the middle of some radiation cloud we can't-"

 ***** _"Radiation cloud?"_ ***** B'Elanna's voice was confused. ***** _"We saw random radiation clouds when we were about to crash, but I don't think we crashed anywhere near them."_ *****

"Apparently, you crashed in the middle of one." commented Tuvok.

The professor finally spoke up. "The clouds move," he began, his voice authoritative, "Because of the creatures."

 **XXX**

Chakotay's head jerked around to meet Tom's eyes, his brows drawn into a frown. "They know about the creature? Who was that?"

 ***** _"That is Professor Menton. He is a biophysicist from Tinvarii."_ ***** said Kathryn over the comm. ***** _"He came with us to study whatever phenomenon is on the planet."_ *****

"Well, there's plenty of phenomenon." Harry muttered, crawling to the edge of their makeshift tenting and peeking up at the shuttle's windows. With wide eyes he looked back down at the others. "They're gone!"

"They're gone?" repeated B'Elanna, starting to sit back up until Tom stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Where did they go then?"

Harry went to the side window, knocking the sheet down to look at the treeline around the crater. The woods were the same shadowy, looming entity they had been before, the sun not up bright enough to illuminate them fully, but he couldn't make out anything moving within them. Not even a breeze blew to move the leaves on the trees. Everything was perfectly still like a painting. "I don't see anything." he reported. "All clear... at least on this side."

Tom and Chakotay quickly joined him, three sets of eyes examining the scenery outside for any sign of danger. The pilot let out an agitated sigh. "I don't trust that for a minute."

" _Yo tampoco.._ " breathed Chakotay, shaking his head.

 **XXX**

 ***** _"_ Yo tampoco _.."_ ***** Chakotay's voice was distorted over the channel. ***** _"We need out of here._ Ahora _."_ *****

"We can't beam in or out through it." said Ayala, his face pulled into a frown. " _No puedo, Jefe. Lo siento._ "

"You are approximately 2.8 kilometers from the edge of the cloud." said Tuvok. "You will have to move to the edge of the cloud to-"

 ***** _"Move? We can't move!"_ ***** Tom insisted.

Kathryn scowled. "What? Why?"

Chakotay's voice growled over the comm. ***** _"_ Pinche vida.. _Seven is sitting at death's door and B'Elanna is in labor. We can't move them, Captain."_ *****

The Doctor's attention turned from the Captain back up to the microphone. "In labor? You're having all the fun without me down there."

 ***** _"Fun. Right."_ _ *****_ Tom hissed. ***** _"You will have to find another way to get us out of here. Fast."_ *****

"We could send a shuttle." suggested Icheb.

 ***** _"No! Don't send anyone down here!"_ ***** said Tom. ***** _"It's too dangerous. They would be right in the same spot that we are- trapped."_ *****

 **XXX**

Tom looked guiltily down at B'Elanna as she reached out and squeezed his hand through another pain. "I'm sorry, _BeNal_." She shook her head, but he didn't feel at all absolved of guilt. It would be nice to have someone come and get them- and on any other mission, it would have happened by now- but the stakes were too high, and the odds stacked against them.

 ***** _"The creatures are holding you captive, aren't they?"_ ***** The Professor's voice was smug, edging on patronizing. ***** _"They do exist."_ *****

Gritting his teeth, Harry turned his head towards Tom, who still held the badge in one hand. "Yes, they exist. There's a whole slew of them down here. I mean, they've only been watching us like diners in a seafood restaurant and we're the lobsters in the tank waiting to be picked off!"

"We have been stuck in the shuttle for days now." said Chakotay. "We are out of food and water, and the temperature is rising as the sun comes up. Seven won't make it another day, and B'Elanna and Tom's baby won't make it if she is born here."

The Professor's voice turned from patronizing to excited. ***** _"The creatures- you've seen them! What do they look like?!"_ *****

"Like us." B'Elanna hissed. "Now will you please get us out of here?"

Tuvok's Vulcan calm was the voice of reason again. ***** _"The only option left to us, if we cannot send a shuttle to you, and you cannot return to us in the shuttle you are in, if for you to leave that shuttle and make your way out of the radiation cloud."_ *****

Harry growled. "We can't-"

 ***** _"You are only 2.8 kilometers from the edge of the cloud. That distance could be walked in approximately thirty minutes. If you run, you could make it in twenty minutes."_ *****

"That's a long time.." murmured B'Elanna, pushing herself up to sit. She turned and looked down at Seven beside her, the unmoving blonde was growing more and more pale, her skin beginning to take on its previous Borg grey mottle as the nanoprobes were the only thing sluggishly moving through her veins. "And Seven can't run. _Gre'thor_ , I'm not sure I can run."

 **XXX**

Kathryn had to physically stop herself from wringing her hands together, glancing worriedly at the Doctor before turning back to Ayala. "If they ran- if they managed to run- could you.. pluck them up one at a time?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ayala nodded once.

Icheb stepped away from the science station and rounded opps beside Ayala. "I will assist you, Lieutenant."

"Chakotay?" Kathryn specifically ignored the Professor, his calculating face like sandpaper against her eyes. Instead, she turned back to look at the planet her crew was awaiting rescue on as it appeared on the viewscreen.

 ***** _"Yes, Captain?"_ *****

"I think running is your only option."

 ***** _"...Understood."_ *****

 ***** _"Not understood."_ ***** Harry argued. ***** _"These aren't like bears or panthers outside our doors! These things have fucked with us for days! Impersonating us, trying to split us up, destroying our camp and our supplies! We can't see them now, but they have to be out there waiting on us! As soon as we leave this shuttle-"_ *****

 ***** _"I'm at the point that I would rather take my chances."_ ***** Tom cut him off. ***** _"Die in here, die out there, or get rescued and not die.. I'm tossing the dice. We have to do this while B'Elanna can still run."_ *****

 ***** _"I can carry Seven- she's light."_ ***** said Chakotay. ***** _"You two help B'Elanna."_ *****

 ***** _"It will start getting hot soon."_ ***** said B'Elanna.

 ***** _"Captain?"_ *****

Kathryn drew in a silent but calming breath. "Yes, Chakotay?"

 ***** _"We're gonna make a break for it. Be ready to beam us out- as a group or one at a time.. just as fast as you can get a lock on us."_ *****

Even though he couldn't see her, Kathryn nodded in understanding. "Yes, Commander." She straightened her back, once again turning to Icheb and Ayala. "Be ready for them." When they nodded, she tried to smile, and hoped it wasn't a grimace. "Commander?"

 ***** _"Yes, Captain?"_ *****

"Good luck."

 **XXX**

Chakotay gently readjusted Seven in his grasp, settling more of her weight onto his shoulder to take some pressure off of his forearms. She moaned weakly, her entire body slack, sagging bonelessly against him. Beside him, B'Elanna warily watched the tree line, her hand clasped tight in Tom's who was doing the same. Harry was bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet on the opened hatch, ready to sprint off at a second's notice.

Tom looked back down to the tricorder in his hand, and pointed ahead of them to the coordinates Icheb and Ayala had given them. "Little less than two miles- that way."

"Two miles." Harry repeated, psyching himself up. "We can do this. We can make this."

"Stay together." said Chakotay, his voice quiet and pensive, eyes sharp as they raked over the woods ahead of them. "Ayala is gonna beam us all up as soon as he can get a lock on us." he affirmed.

"Right." B'Elanna nodded, cupping her hands under the swell of her belly with a pained sigh. "He better get a lock on us fast is all I have to say about it."

"Alright, come on, Chief." Tom slapped the com badge- their link to the ship- onto Chakotay's chest, and took one step away from the shuttle, leading the others as he held the tricorder to direct the way that Ayala had plotted for them.

 ***CRACK***

The group startled as one, swiveling around to look at the woods behind them. Standing just inside the treeline was a Chakotay, but not a very convincing one. As they watched, the face changed, skin lightening, cheekbones changing shape, nose slimming, until it was Harry standing there. Beneath its head, the body morphed as well, shortening, slimming, then producing an obviously rounded abdomen and a set of breasts. The face morphed first into Seven, and then changed into B'Elanna's.

"..fuck." Harry breathed, taking a step back.

Taking a step forward, the creature's features again began to change, this time shuffling between all of them, its body seeming to shiver and shimmer as the changes slid into place and morphed again with seconds between. The sound of stretching muscle and popping joints became a sickening dull roar as it shifted- as though it couldn't make up its mind which one of its victims it should mimic. Harry's skin- Tom's eyes- B'Elanna's ears- Seven's chest- Harry's legs- Chakotay's tattoo- Harry's height- Tom's hands- B'Elanna's breasts- Seven's waist- Chakotay's height- Seven's ocular implant- Tom's face- Seven's metal-laced hand- B'Elanna's eyes-

The four standing crewmates watched in horror, stricken dumb, as the monster before them flicked through its repertoire of features until finally, it changed one last time. The creature rose to a staggering eight feet tall, its body fleshing out and changing into black strips of ragged, matted black feathers and scales and fur as big around as a photon torpedo casing. It's arms lengthened until they could drag the ground, black and scaled, and tipped with curved talon-like claws as long and thick as a human hand. Finally, its head changed, the snout lengthening, sharp, yellow teeth shooting out of its gums in every direction- razor sharp and dripping black drool. It's face looked like a rotten cow's skull- bleached white in places where the black and green flesh had fallen away, its nose gone and showing the bone and cartilage beneath. Its eyes were round and yellowed, spinning independently in their sockets like a chameleon. After a handful of heartbeats, the eyes stopped their rolling, both turning in tandem and zeroing in on the humans before it.

"Oh my-! Fuck!" Tom grabbed B'Elanna's wrist in a tight grip. " _RUN!_ "

" _Kahless!_ " B'Elanna swore, taking off for the woodline opposite the creature, ignoring the burning sensation in her back. Tom was at her heels, one hand on the small of her back to hold her speed and keep her with him. Harry was right behind them, with Chakotay beside him, the older man's legs pumping as hard as they could to propel him along with the added weight of Seven in his arms.

Behind them, an ungodly shriek like a pig to slaughter rang out across the woods, so loud that it was near deafening. The sound reverberated in their chests like bullets ricocheting inside their ribcages, making their ears ring. Before the sound completely died down, a stiff wind blew up around them, throwing all the dead leaves and dislodged underbrush up into their faces as they dodged through the trees, struggling to run and keep each other in their sights as they headed in the direction of their rescue. The sound of trees cracking and falling thundered around them.

 **XXX**

On the bridge, the entire crew startled at the ghastly sound coming from the open com link. Kathryn hopped back out of her recently re-acquired chair, stalking up to the helm with her eyes on the viewscreen. "Chakotay? Tom?" She turned to where Icheb stood beside opps. "Go help Lieutenant Ayala at the transporters." At his nod, she turned back to the viewscreen and the swirling images on it. Behind her, Icheb and Ayala ran for the transporter room.

Chakotay's com crackled to life for a split second, his voice scratching over the speakers in four, short syllables that drew a chill down the Captain's spine. ***** _"It's.. behind.. us!"_ *****

 **XXX**

Harry was in the lead, his hand wrapped around one of B'Elanna's wrists as he ran, towing her along behind him. He was the fastest of the four able bodies, and used that fact to try to tow the others with him. Behind B'Elanna, Tom held her other wrist, his free hand on her back. If he could just keep her ahead of him, maybe she had a chance to make it far enough away to be transported. Chakotay pulled up the rear, Seven tossed on his shoulder, limp and unresponsive as she was jostled in his hurry. The briars and vines on the forest floor tore chunks out of his pants and shirt, shredding into the skin beneath, but he ignored it as he willed his legs to move faster.

 ***** _"One and a half miles."_ _ *****_ Ayala's voice came over the com link. ***** _"You're making good time."_ *****

"Oh, yeah- walk in the park, Roberto!" Tom panted. "Beam us up!"

 ***** _"I still can't get a lock on you- you'll have to get farther north."_ *****

"Getting right on that!" Harry yelled, chancing a glance behind him. The creature was behind them, seemingly floating on a sea of black leaves and debris that was lifted by the wind to swirl around behind it in a sea of black camouflage so that he could not tell how big or how tall the creature really was in relation. Trees bent and broke like they were made of paper mache as the creature swung its arms out to clear its path. It was gaining on them. "Oh, shit! Beam! Beam!"

 ***** _"I'm trying!"_ _ *****_ Ayala said, ***** _"A little more than a mile now!"_ *****

Chakotay's side began to cramp. He could feel his speed beginning to drop. Tom and Harry were one step- two steps- three steps ahead of him now. He shifted Seven higher on his shoulder, his arm clamped over the back of her thighs to hold her from flying over him. For a moment he was thankful she was unresponsive, knowing how jarring her ride must be. With the shift in weight, he managed to up his speed again. He couldn't quite catch up to Tom and Harry and B'Elanna- youth and stature working in their favor- but he wasn't out of the race yet.

"Oh _Kahless!_ " B'Elanna huffed, her feet sliding over the carpet of leaves. "I can't run like this much longer!" The burning, tightness flashed across her stomach again, nearly taking her balance with it. "Tom!"

Icheb's voice came over the line. ***** _"Just a little farther, Lieutenant Torres."_ *****

"Icheb, it's time to.." Tom grunted, his legs beginning to burn with the effort of propelling both himself and his wife forward. "..work some of that.. famous Borg.. magic! Make your.. Mama.. proud!"

 ***** _"I am attempting to realign the parameters-"_ _ *****_

"There is no try! Only do!" Chakotay yelled out, dodging under a low branch before hopping over a fallen log. "Beam us up!"

"Damnit, Ayala!" yelled Harry. "How much farther?!" He didn't dare another glance back. The sound of trees being uprooted and leaves swirling was still a near-deafening roar just behind them. He could still feel it in his chest- the squealing shriek vibrating his teeth.

 ***** _"Half a mile!"_ _ *****_ answered the lieutenant. ***** _"I can just... almost..."_ _ *****_

Behind them, the creature let out another shriek, this one higher pitched, frantic. Tom glanced back in time to see the creature up its game, its body lengthening to propel it the few feet further it needed to reach them without having to move its feet any faster. The helmsman let out a screech of his own, shoving B'Elanna harder, his and Harry's hands on her wrists the only thing keeping her from stumbling.

"Oh my god!" Harry yelled. "Look!" His arm whipped out in front, directing the half-Klingon and helmrat's attention. "Thicket!" They were heading straight for a brambled briar patch, the barbed vines a tangle of coiled knots from forest floor to canopy top. There was no way they could run through it- it would take hours to pick through.

"Left! Left!" Chakotay yelled, quickly assessing the situation before veering off to the closest edge of the gnarled briars. The others followed suit, falling in line with him as they continued on. "Beam!"

 ***** _"We're trying to!"_ _ *****_ the Captain's voice came over the channel, her voice a forced calm. ***** _"You're near the edge of the radiation."_ _ *****_

B'Elanna couldn't breathe. Redundant lung made little difference as she was forced to either continue running or be dragged along. Her side was killing her, her hips aching with every move. "Tom!" Pain began to spasm from her tailbone around to the front of her rounded stomach, and she didn't have an empty hand to lend any support to it. "I can't!"

"You have to!" Tom yelled. "Run, 'Lanna!"

In a heartbeat, she was gone in a flash of blue static as the transporter finally locked on her. Tom, without her weight ahead of him, stumbled into Harry. The two men were down in a heap for barely a second before they sprang back up and took off, missing the talons of the creature by a handful of feet. Tom let out a bark of relief, sprinting up behind Chakotay to lend him the help he had given to B'Elanna, bracing his hands behind Chakotays back on either side of Seven's limp body and giving him a push.

Harry disappeared next as they rounded the side of the thicket, then Tom shortly after. Chakotay huffed, his arm over the back of Seven's thighs burning into numbness. He could no longer feel his feet- only trust that they would hit the ground steady beneath him at the will of his legs. "Beam Seven!" he yelled across the com. "Get Seven out!"

 ***** _"Trying!"_ _ *****_ came Ayala's voice, the strain apparent. ***** _"_ Casi _!"_ _ *****_

" _¡Transportarla! ¡Ahora!_ " Chakotay's voice was hoarse with effort. He ducked under another low branch, but couldn't miss the big root ahead of him. It caught his foot in a grip hard enough he could hear the bones snap before the starburst of pain hit him a second later. It felt like slow motion as he fell, his speed and trajectory enough to send Seven flying off of his shoulder to sprawl like a rag doll in a heap in front of him. A strangled grunt came from her mouth as what air was in her lungs was pushed out in the force of her body hitting the forest floor. Chakotay sprawled in front of her, his foot forgotten as he struggled to regather her to him. "BEAM SEVEN UP! BEAM HER UP! ROBERTO!"

Just as he had her pulled back to him, she began to sparkle in his arms, her body slowly becoming immaterial as she was finally beamed away from this hellhole and all the horrible things in it. The commander let out a sigh of relief, his head drooping as exhaustion began to set in. The forest was dead-silent now. No leaves, no wind, no screeching wail. His foot burned like he had set it on fire, but his ordeal was not over. Quiet as it was, he knew he was not alone.

With a grunt of effort, and a little bit of pain, he stood up, ignoring the painful crunching of bones in his foot, prepared to turn around to meet his tormentor. As he lifted his eyes, his grunt became a gasp. The creature was now in front of him, all eight feet of its height realized, its rotten head nearly lost in the tree branches as it watched him, black drool dripping in slimy ribbons from its jaws to wet the forest floor between them. Taloned hands hung heavy at its sides, each digit flexed, every claw extended. Chakotay stared up at it in awed horror.

' _This is it, then?_ ' he thought to himself. ' _After all this.. this is how I'm taken out?_ ' He glared up at the creature. "Fine then- so be it. My team is safe- Seven is safe. Spirits, take me!" he yelled. When the creature drew back one heavy taloned hand to end him, he refused to flinch- instead, facing his death with some semblance of dignity.

Just before the hand crashed into his side, talons slicing into his already-bloodied side, cutting him down like he was made of glass, his body disappeared in a flash of static light.

 **XXX**

 **What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~LM**

 **Translations:**

 **"Yo tampoco.." - "I agree.."**

 **Ahora- Now**

 **Pinche vida- *expletive* life**

 **No puedo, Jefe. Lo siento. - I can't, Boss. I'm sorry.**

 **Casi- Almost**

 **Transportarla- transport her**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Notes: Hello and welcome to the LAST CHAPTER! It's a doozy- twice as long as a typical chapter- but there just wasn't a good place to split it! What a journey this has been! Thank you so much to ALL my lovely readers and reviewers! I'm so glad so many of you have enjoyed this! Special thanks of course to Scifiromance, Starshine, and Wayamoon for being my biggest supporters, for letting me tell them a story, and for putting up with me! You're wonderful! XOXO**

 **Obligatory Legalities: Don't own them, or this would be a feature length film by now.**

 **Enjoy!  
~LM**

 **XXX**

When Chakotay came into being in Transporter Room 2, it was to pandemonium. B'Elanna was curled on her side on the transporter pad, her arms wound tight around her stomach, and a worried grimace on her face. Harry was on his knees beside her, rubbing his hand up and down her spine as he tried to give her some measure of comfort. Icheb had rushed from the controls and knelt beside the Doctor and Tom, both of whom were working on Seven. Ayala watched wide-eyed from the transporter controls.

"Atropine, Mister Paris- three milligrams!" said the Doctor, shoving the hypospray into the young medic's hands while he scanned the lifeless blonde with his enhanced tricorder.

"Got it!" said Tom, quickly injecting the hypo into Seven's neck.

"No effect." said the Doctor, moving Seven to lay flat on her back, trying not to wince when her arm flopped to the side like a rag doll. "She's crashing. Chest compressions- quickly Tom!"

Tom immediately rose to his knees, knotting his hands together, and beginning to work. "One, two, three.."

Chakotay didn't even have time to dive down beside them before the Doctor lifted his hand to his badge and yelled out, "Emergency Medical Transport- four to beam to sickbay- Mark!"

"Fuck!" Chakotay nearly faltered on his injured foot, stumbling forward off of the pad, past Icheb and Harry, and breaking into a painful run towards the turbolift down the corridor. He could hear footsteps behind him when he reached the turbolift, turning around as the other two shot into the lift with him.

"Deck five!" Harry shouted, eyebrows drawn, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Before the doors had even swished open, the men were pouring out of the lift and sprinting to sickbay. Inside, the Doctor was zooming back and forth across the bay, pulling machines on rollers to the surgical bay where Seven was laid out like a broken doll under Tom's hands. The young medic was still doing chest compressions, pausing every three beats to push another breath into the blonde's lungs. B'Elanna was sitting on the biobed closest to the surgical bay, her shirt bunched up over her stomach to facilitate a tight band of monitors stretched around it. Her face was pensive and pained as she watched.

The Doctor barely glanced up at them in between sticking another monitor to Seven's throat and preparing a tube and needle to deliver needed fluids to her veins, assessing the group with the quick efficiency he was programmed for and deeming them quite stable in comparison. "Icheb."

"Yes, Doctor?" said the young man, crossing the room to the surgical suite. His movement startled the other two out of their surprised stupor. Chakotay and Harry followed, stopping beside B'Elanna to watch helplessly.

"Icheb, I need every blood sample in suspension Seven has ever given me- now!" said the Doctor, carefully inserting the needle into the least pitiful vein in Seven's arm.

"Where are-?" began to young man.

"Lab. Have the computer call them up. Override Doctor seven pi three. Quickly, Icheb!"

"Yes, Doctor!" Icheb sprinted through the office and to the lab beyond, returning seconds later with two bundles of silver tubes in his hands. He handed them over to the Doctor who began to quickly load them into his hypospray, pushing tube after tube of them back into Seven's body.

"Doc, is she-" Chakotay started, taking a step from B'Elanna's side. The sharp, throbbing pain from his foot cut off his words as he clamped his mouth shut to keep from making the pained noise that was begging to scream out from him.

B'Elanna's slender hand reached out and grasped his, gently pulling him the step back to her side, lacing their fingers. "Let the Doctor and Tom work." she said softly to him. "What's wrong with your foot? You're bleeding."

"I can't say either way just yet, Commander." the Doctor said loudly over the sound of the machines, his eyes on the last tube as he pressed his hypo to Seven's throat again. "It's too soon to te-"

Beneath Tom's hands, Seven's body gave a jerking shudder, her mouth opening as she gagged. Tom nearly stumbled in surprise as her back arched up off of the biobed. A loud gurgle came from her throat next as she convulsed, black liquid frothing up her throat and into her mouth. The Doctor quickly rolled her up onto her side. "She's choking!" he said, giving her a hard whack between her shoulder blades. More black liquid streamed out of her mouth, finally followed by a ragged cough and a wheeze as she began to clear her own lungs.

Tom put his hand on Seven's side to hold her position while the Doctor continued to work on hooking her up, his other hand patting her back. "That's right, Sister, get it all up." he murmured. Seven coughed again, another stream of deactivated nanoprobes splashing out onto the biobed in front of her face.

"She's breathing?" Chakotay asked hopefully, leaning on his good foot to try to see around Tom. B'Elanna continued to hold him from moving forward, though with the pain beginning to cloud over him from his injury, it didn't take much to keep him back. "Tom."

Tom moved aside a step without letting go of his patient, and looked at the two of them over his shoulder. He met Chakotay's eyes long enough to nod confirmation before his attention was turned to B'Elanna. "Are you okay?"

The half-Klingon nodded once. "Only one contraction since we were beamed to sickbay." she answered. Her empty hand rubbed over the exposed skin of her belly. "I think we are okay."

"Good." said Tom. "Good. Had me scared."

"Me, too." admitted B'Elanna.

"Our daughter's going to be as stubborn as her mother. She's not coming out til she's good and ready to." he said reassuringly before turning back to the surgical bed. The Doctor thrust a spare towel at him before running the tricorder over Seven again. Tom used it to soak up some of the black mess and the clean corner to wipe the black gunk from the side of Seven's mouth. Though she was breathing on her own in ragged gasps, her eyes stayed closed, unconsciousness still holding her.

"Lay her back, Tom." the Doctor said, finishing with the equipment. With gentle hands, he rolled Seven onto her back, laying her arms out along her sides before rechecking her vitals. Her breathing was becoming less labored, her color pinkening back up. "The nanoprobes are working." He looked up to meet Tom's eyes. "Do you want to take the readings for B'Elanna or would you rather I do it?"

"I got it." said the young medic quickly, balling up the dirty towel and setting it on the end of Seven's biobed before quickly turning his attention onto his pregnant wife. "Still no contractions?" he confirmed, grabbing up the tricorder on the tray by her bed and running it up and down her stomach.

As soon as B'Elanna released his hand to instead take hold of Tom's, Chakotay managed the stumble forward to Seven's biobed. Harry, seeing his near misstep, reached out and took hold of the older man's arm, steadying him. "Here- let me help." he said, acting as the crutch to help Chakotay the next few steps to lean against the side of Seven's biobed.

"Harry, are you injured?" asked the Doctor, "I haven't had a chance to scan you or Chakotay."

Looking up after making sure that Chakotay was steadily leaned, Harry shook his head at the Doctor. "Just tired. And thirsty." he answered. "The girls had it worse." He glanced back down at Seven, then to B'Elanna behind him. "Way worse."

"You're all lucky to be alive." returned the EMH, rounding the bed and running his scanner over Harry. "Dehydrated, but alive. I think you will be fine without an intravenous infusion, but I want you to drink an electrolyte solution for me." He clucked his tongue, fully in mother hen mode, as he turned his attention to Chakotay. "Also dehydrated.. but not enough to-"

Chakotay waved him off, clutching the side of Seven's biobed to keep himself upright on his uninjured right foot. "Can I get a stool first, Doctor?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah." Harry quickly crossed the bay to the wall console and retrieved the triangular stool from it. The ensign scooted it over beside Seven's head for the Commander, making sure he made it onto it alright before moving over to Tom and B'Elanna.

"Thanks." Chakotay muttered, sinking onto the stool. The relief in his leg was enough to draw a sigh from him as his right leg rested. His left foot continued to throb painfully.

"No baby today, Maquis?" Harry teased, B'Elanna, giving her a gentle poke in the side.

"No babies today." she returned, poking him back.

"Ensign, you may go get yourself cleaned up." The Doctor held out a pair of scrubs and a towel to Harry. "Use the decontamination setting in the lavatory."

Harry took the clean clothes gratefully. "You got it, Doc." He smiled to Tom and B'Elanna as he backed towards the office and the lab and lavatory beyond. "Be right back."

"Now then, Commander," the Doctor began as Harry slipped into the bathroom, holding his sensor out to begin a sweep down Chakotay's head. "Let's see what-"

"Doctor, do you require any further assistance?" Icheb interrupted from his place at the foot of Seven's biobed, his eyes on her resting face.

"Not at the moment, Icheb." answered the EMH, pausing to glance back at the worried young man. When the ex-Borg nodded, the Doctor turned his attention back to Chakotay, taking in the man's palid face, the set of his jaw as he grit his teeth, and the beads of sweat blossoming along his brow. The scanner was ran lower until the Doctor held it over the Commander's left foot with a surprised expression. "Commander, your foot is shattered!"

"Yeah- feels like it." commented Chakotay. His attention was focused solely on the pale hand he held between his own, cupped over the delicate interplay of metal and flesh as if it was a fragile butterfly.

"We will have to-" The Doctor's words were cut off as one of the alarms began to go off on Seven's biobed. The unconscious blonde convulsed again, her whole body shuddering as more black froth gurgled past her lips. "Tom, your assistance." commanded the EMH, dropping his tricorder to turn Seven back onto her side.

The blonde medic pressed a quick kiss to B'Elanna's forehead before turning back towards the surgical suite, crossing the five steps to Seven's biobed.

"I'm sorry, Chakotay, but you will have to move back." said the Doctor, loading up a hypospray while Tom held Seven in place on her side to let her body finish expelling the deactivated nanoprobes filling her lungs and stomach.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Chakotay said, watching helplessly as Seven choked and sputtered in front of him.

"I will have to fix your foot after I have stabilized Seven- again!" The Doctor scowled, irritated at the Commander, pressing the buttons on the side of the biobed to bring the arched scanner up over his patient's body.

"Fuck my foot, Doc." Chakotay growled. "I-"

Tom cut him off. "It's okay, Chakotay- we're taking good care of her." he said as soothingly as he could while avoiding getting splashed. "Go sit by B'Elanna for a second while we stabilize her. Icheb, give Chakotay a hand, would you?"

"Yes, Lieutenant." said the young man, rounding the bed towards Chakotay.

Only his feelings for Seven, and therefore her feelings for Icheb, kept the Commander from pushing him away. Instead, he let the teenager help him back to sit on the end of B'Elanna's biobed. As soon as he was out of the surgical suite, the Doctor pulled the dark blue privacy curtain shut around it. B'Elanna's hand found his again, cradling it in one palm and closing the other over top of it. He tightened his grip on hers, leaning heavily against the bed, listening to the Doctor order Tom around behind the curtain before kicking him out of it, too, moments later when the alarm stopped beeping.

"Is she-?" B'Elanna's eyebrows shot up as Tom slipped out, pulling his now-wet shirt off over his head.

"She's stable. Just had to get those deactivated nanoprobes up, I guess." he said, dropping the soiled shirt on the floor beside the curtain. "Doctor is going to clean her up. She threw up all over.." He gestured to his own chest.

"I heard the alarms going off." Harry quickly strode back into sickbay through the office, green scrub bottoms on and tied around his hips, and his white towel around his neck to catch the water from his still-wet hair. His eyes were wide, looking at the curtain pulled around the surgical suite. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it is now." answered Tom. "Finished in the bathroom?" Harry nodded, walking to the first biobed and tossing his shirt on it before resuming drying his hair with his towel. "Good. B'Elanna and I are next." said Tom. B'Elanna nodded eagerly, a smile on her lips.

"That would be wonderful." said the half-Klingon. "I miss soap. And shampoo."

"Glad to know you're a cheap date today." laughed the helmrat.

Chakotay, beside her, cracked a small smile despite his worry.

Just then, the doors to sickbay swished open, the Captain sweeping inside. She almost immediately made eye contact with her first officer. "Report."

"Happy to see you, too, Captain." said Tom with a thumbs up and a wink.

Kathryn smirked at him, walking to the end of B'Elanna's bed after a smile and nod to Harry. "I am very happy to see you, Tom." she said placatingly. "And the rest of you, too. Where is Seven?"

Chakotay gestured to the curtain. "The Doctor is tending to her." he answered, the small smile slipping off of his face and his brow drawing down in concern again.

"Doctor?" the Captain called, watching the shadow moving under the curtain back and forth.

"Just a moment, Captain." returned the EMH.

"I bet you are just full of stories to tell." Kathryn said, reaching out and placing a light hand on B'Elanna's belly over the sensors. "How is our soon-to-be newest crewmember?"

"She's fine so far." answered B'Elanna. "I think they stopped my labor."

"We did." confirmed Tom. "But you'll have to be under observation for a while and likely a permanent monitor until she's cooked long enough to be born."

"I can do a monitor. Don't tell me I'm stuck in sickbay for the next month!" B'Elanna groused.

Beside them, the Doctor pushed back the curtain from the surgical suite, revealing a clean Seven of Nine in a pair of grey hospital scrubs on a cleaned biobed. There were still two tubes going into the veins of her right arm, held in place with sterile tape, and a cortical monitor placed on her forehead over her cortical node. The Doctor lifted the little pile of soiled clothes and towels from the end of the bed and made his way to the replicator to recycle them.

"What's her prognosis, Doctor?" Kathryn asked, stepping up to the end of the bed.

"Now, hopefully, it is only a matter of recharging her nanoprobes until her body begins to make more." answered the EMH, walking back to the suite. "I have her hooked up to the little regenerator I have here for when I perform surgery on her, but it isn't the same as her portable unit or her alcove. I am unwilling to release her to her alcove yet, though.. I doubt she could stand in it. We would have to harness her into it somehow."

"Her portable unit is on the shuttle, right?" asked the Captain. At the nod of the other four, she continued. "We are working on beaming the shuttle and its components up from the planet now. The radiation cloud has shifted again so that we can get our sensors through."

"Once it is beamed up, someone needs to bring her unit to sickbay." said the Doctor.

"What's left of it anyway." Chakotay said, gingerly scooting off of B'Elanna's bed and taking a limping step towards Seven's. Icheb was quick to help him again, letting the commander use his shoulder like a crutch to move back to the stool beside the head of the bed.

"It will have to be repaired." commented Harry from the first bed, listening to them. "We had to take it apart."

"Good thing we have the best engineer in the quadrant in our sickbay." said Tom, patting his hand on B'Elanna's shoulder.

The engineer nodded. "It won't take but a minute for me to piece it back together."

"I would also be of assistance." Icheb volunteered.

"Atta boy, Icheb." Tom smiled at the teen. "With the two of you, we'll have Mama's batteries charged right up just in time to scold you for not washing behind your ears." Icheb smirked, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, Commander," said the Doctor, lifting his tricorder and rounding the biobed. "Let's have a look at that foot." Chakotay only nodded, resting his elbow on the side of Seven's bed and letting his injured foot hang uselessly in front of him.

"I look forward to reading your reports." commented the Captain, her voice soft as she watched Seven's chest rise and fall with her breath. "I'm so glad you all made it out in one piece."

"Thanks." Chakotay said. He hissed a breath, following it with a grunt before yanking his injured foot back from the Doctor's grasp. "Hey!"

"I'm sorry, Commander." said the EMH. "If you would just-"

The door swishing open cut off the Doctor's next words as Tal Celes sprinted into the room. Her umber eyes quickly scanned over her surroundings before landing on the young ensign pulling his blue scrub top over his head. She wasted no time, rushing up to him and throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh, Harry, you're okay!" she gushed. " _Ah'no peldar aka rokaya!_ I'm so glad you're okay!"

Harry grunted at the impact, one arm still hung in his sleeve. He quickly squirmed it out, turning the two of them around, before looping both arms around behind the young woman's waist. "Tal." he breathed, leaning his forehead down to rest on her shoulder as she tucked her face against the side of his neck. "Did you miss me?"

She pulled back from him, bringing her hands up to cup his face before pressing her lips to his. When she couldn't stand to not be wrapped in his arms any longer, she released his mouth, tucking her face back against his throat and her arms winding back around his neck. "Of course I missed you!" she said, her voice muffled by his skin. "Don't you ever do this to me again!"

"Wouldn't dream of it." he returned, leaning his head back down beside her's so that the chain of her _d'ja pagh_ tickled the side of his jaw. "You're wearing your-"

"I've prayed to the Prophets all night for your safe return.."

Across the bay, B'Elanna cleared her throat. Harry barely turned his head to see the group of them standing there watching him with looks varying from surprise to pride, and couldn't be bothered to care. "What?" he asked loud enough for them to hear. "You think you guys are the only ones that can hide things?" He ignored B'Elanna's snort, turning his head back towards Tal's neck, pressing a kiss against her pulse and smirking when she shivered in his arms.

"Oh, Harry, Celes." Kathryn said, a happy smile on her face. "Congratulations."

"Way to go, Harry!" commented Tom. He let out a soft oof as B'Elanna elbowed him. "What?!"

The words of the others splashed over Tal like a bucket of cold water. The young Bajoran backed out of Harry's arms as though he'd burned her, her eyes flashing over towards where the others sat or leaned against B'Elanna's and Seven's biobed. "I-I'm-" She blushed, her hands back in front of her, wringing against her belly. "I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to disturb anyone- I just wanted to check on-"

Harry, smiling affectionately, gently pulled her back against him. "You're not bothering anyone." he said, kissing the ridges on her nose. "Don't worry about it."

B'Elanna nodded, pulling at the tight material holding the sensors against her belly. "You're fine." she said, pausing to growl as one of the sensors dug into the bottom of her ribcage. "Congrats- Tom, get this thing offa me!"

"Lanna, you have to leave it-"

"Now, Tom!" B'Elanna hissed. "Icheb, get me some scissors, would you?"

The boy looked put on the spot, glancing between her and Tom. "I really think you should allow Lieutenant Paris to-"

The sickbay doors swished open again, the bushy-haired professor slipping in before the doors were even full opened, his hands rubbing together in front of his chest in abject glee as he hungrily passed his eyes over them like a mad scientist picking its next victim. "You must tell me everything!" he began, first walking towards Harry and Tal, startling the young Bajoran enough to slip around behind Harry's back for protection. "You saw the creature? And lived to tell about it! Where did you go? What did you do?" At Harry's warning look, he quickly altered course, heading farther into the bay.

Ayala rushed through the doors after him, his face a dark scowl as he stalked after the professor. " _¡Locos extraterrestres!_ I said you can't come in here!" He spotted the Captain and dropped the scowl. "He wouldn't listen to me, Captain!"

"Professor Menton." Kathryn interrupted, crossing the sickbay to try to head him off from his path to B'Elanna's bed. "I'm afraid-"

The professor merely ducked around her, coming to rest his hands at the end of B'Elanna's biobed. "What did it sound like? What did it move like?" he continued his questions rapid-fire. "How did you escape? What did it look like?"

"It was tall and yellow with feathers and laid eggs full of jellybeans." B'Elanna growled, still struggling with the sensor digging into her side. " _TOM!_ "

"Professor!" Kathryn pulled on her command mask, her fists balling on her hips. "You can't just barge in here and start questioning my crew while they are trying to receive medical care!"

"I have spent my life studying this creature and the phenomena it creates!" the professor said indignantly. "I have waited years for this kind of first-hand experience!"

"Why don't you drop down there and see for yourself?" Harry hissed, leading Tal by the hand to the biobed beside B'Elanna's.

The bushy eyebrows on the professor's face drew together like two caterpillars fighting across his forehead. "Because no one goes down there and then comes back up!" His face turned positively smug. "Except for you.. Now- you will tell me everything!"

"Doc!" Chakotay hissed in a pained breath, again removing his foot from the EMH's grasp.

B'Elanna snarled at the professor, hitting the end of her tether. "Doctor, I swear to Kahless if you don't get-"

"Alright- that's it!" the Doctor cut in loudly, standing from his crouch beside Chakotay and turning a dark glower onto the professor. "You are stressing out my patients and that is not acceptable!" He looked at Kathryn and Icheb and Tal and Ayala. "This is a sickbay- not a three ring circus! If you aren't a patient, then get out!"

"Captain!" the professor began to protest.

Kathryn shook her head, pointing him in the direction of the door. "You heard the Doctor. Everybody out!" She looked pointedly at Ayala, snapping the lieutenant to attention, and watching him begin to herd the protesting professor back out into the hallway. "Icheb?"

"I will let you know when she wakes up, Icheb." Chakotay said to the distressed teen through teeth clenched against the worsening pain traveling up his leg. He had his elbows propped on the end of the bed by Seven's head, his own resting in his palms as his fingers clenched fistfuls of his hair.

"Thank you, Commander." said the young man, slipping out of the sickbay doors first.

Kathryn smiled at Harry and Tal. "Crewman."

The Bajoran jumped like a chastened child, regretfully pulling her arms back from where they rested comfortably around Harry's waist. Harry tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her back against his side and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "No." he said firmly. "She's staying with me."

The Captain's smile widened for a second before she nodded once, turning and heading after the professor.

"How come she gets to stay?" the professor hissed furiously, pointing towards the young couple as the doors began to slide shut behind them. "She isn't a patient-!"

"Now that it is quiet again.." muttered the Doctor, leaving Chakotay's side long enough to unfasten the snaps holding the sensors to B'Elanna's stomach. He unwrapped it from her waist and laid it beside the biobed on the small tray of instruments wheeled there. "Why don't you go ahead and get cleaned up? There are clean hospital gowns and towels in the lavatory. Do you need assistance?"

B'Elanna sighed in relief that the tight band was off of her, and shook her head. "No, I can take a shower by myself." she returned. "I'm a big girl."

"Very well."

"Let's see that foot, Chief." Tom said, taking his tray of tools and sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Chakotay's leg. "Sprained your ankle, huh?"

"Something like that." muttered Chakotay, trying to distract himself. One hand continued to prop his head up. The other he used to cup Seven's cheek, his thumb tracing over her cheekbone.

"His shoe will have to be cut away." said the Doctor, holding a laser cutter down to his medic. "Here. Let him kick _you_ for a minute."

"I didn't kick- Ouch!" Chakotay grit his teeth as Tom ran the cutter along the back of his shoe, jostling his foot. "Can I get a hypo or something first?"

"Oh, sure, Chief." Tom lifted the little hypospray from his tray, dialed in a dose, and pushed Chakotay's pants leg up to his knee. He pressed the hypo against the side of his knee, aiming for the anterior tibial, and giving it a second to kick in while he examined Chakotay's shoe. The black loafer was stuck to his skin with dried blood, the shoe ballooned out from the swelling limb trapped within it. "Maaaaaan.." he muttered. "Do you do anything in half-measures?"

"No." Chakotay bit out, feeling the pain beginning to recede and the numbness setting in. He relaxed, crossing his arms and laying his head on them beside Seven's shoulder.

"Should we amputate?" the Doctor joked, observing.

"Prolly hurt less." commented the Commander.

"Hold still." said Tom, cutting away the black leather shoe to reveal the injury inside. "Holy crap, Chief!" he exclaimed, carefully peeling the sock away. "I can see bone! Did that thing bite you?"

"No- it didn't bite-" Chakotay jumped as Tom touched a piece that wasn't numb. " _Damnit, Tom, stop breathing on it!_ "

"Here, Mister Paris." the Doctor said, switching places with the medic. "Go make sure B'Elanna is okay. I will scrape together what is left of the commander's foot."

Harry looked a little green, peering over the edge of B'Elanna's vacated biobed. He pulled Tal back from it before she could see, prodding her up onto the biobed behind them before crawling up beside her. "I'm never eating steak tartare again."

 **XXX**

It felt so good to be clean again and safe in the Voyager's dimmed sickbay. B'Elanna would take a month of bedrest in sickbay with the Doctor constantly piping out whichever folk tune or opera solo crossed his mind than another day down on that planet. Now that everyone had been 'fixed up' to the Doctor's satisfaction and scrubbed pink in the lavatory, the Doctor had been kind enough to dim the lights and quietly retreat of his office without attempting to sing them to sleep.

B'Elanna turned her head to look at the biobed behind hers. Tal and Harry were curled together on it under the light grey blanket, the young Bajoran's face relaxed. The brown braided bun the young crewman typically wore had mussed in sleep, and Harry had his face pressed into the soft chestnut strands. Harry was snoring softly, finally relaxed after their endeavor, and apparently comforted in his newly revealed lover's arms. They looked happy.

The half-Klingon turned back to look at Tom in front of her in the dimly lit sickbay. He was struggling to get two chairs to line up enough for him to stretch his legs out on as he turned awkwardly to rest his head on his arms beside her head. She frowned, nearly pouting. "I'm sorry." she whispered.

Tom jerked in surprise, his chairs wobbling as he regained his balance, hands clenching into the thin upholstery over the biobed. "Woah- what, babe?"

"Sorry." she repeated guiltily, looking down as she ran her hand over her rounded stomach. She gestured to the bed behind her. "That there's not room for you up here, too."

The pilot scowled. "Because our daughter is taking up the room." he said with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about it, _be'Nal_."

"You should go lay out on the other biobed." she insisted softly. "Get some rest." She reached out and cupped his cheek with her hand, her thumb brushing over his chin. "You're tired, too."

Tom smiled at her, his blue eyes soft as he leaned back onto the edge of the biobed. He lifted a hand to cup over hers, pulling her palm to his lips to press his lips against. "Hey.." he whispered, "Don't worry about me.. I promise I am fine." With a smile, he gestured behind him to the surgical suite. Seven was still unconscious, laid out like a rag doll on the bed. Chakotay was dozed off, his head on one arm beside her face, and holding Seven's delicately laced hand in his other. "He's not up on the biobed with her. Do you think he doesn't want to be there?" When B'Elanna shook her head, the pilot beamed at her. "See? I'm exactly where I want to be right now- here in sickbay with you and our baby and our friends, safe and sound on Voyager."

She smiled at him, leaning forward to kiss his mouth. "You sweet-talker, you."

He snickered when they parted. "You know it. Get some rest, babe. Doctor's orders."

 **XXX**

When Kathryn was finally able to settle the Professor with a handful of science ensigns to watch over their efforts to bring the broken Flyer back aboard it was well into gamma shift. Carrying a travel mug of strong black coffee, the Captain made her way back to sickbay. The farther she managed to travel from the professor, the lighter the pressure pounded behind her eyes... though she did feel perhaps a little guilty towards the three young ensigns she had left him with. Maybe a few extra rations would go a long way into forgiving her.

Sickbay was quiet and dark, the only lights the monitors on the consoles and the strip of light outlining the surgical bay. She could make out lumps on the last two biobeds before the suite, and a couple of bumps holed away within, but not enough to make out who was who.

"Computer, activate the EM-" she began.

"I'm right here, Captain." The Doctor's voice cut her off behind and to her left. Kathryn couldn't stop the startled yelp, whirling to see the familiar outline of the EMH as he stepped up behind her. "I apologize, Captain." he said quickly, humbly. "Computer, raise lights to forty percent of maximum."

"How are they?" Kathryn asked him, blinking to clear her eyes, blinded by the lights after having adjusted to the dark of the corridor and bay.

"Harry and Tom should be well enough to be released in the morning. B'Elanna I will want to keep for observation for a day or two to make sure that her labor has totally stopped." the Doctor said, walking to the console and pulling up their charts. Kathryn followed him, still rubbing one eye. "Chakotay suffered quite the break on his foot, but I think he can be released as well. He will likely be tender for another day or two."

"What about Seven?" asked Kathryn.

"Seven will be touch and go. She lost a lot of nanoprobes. The sooner we can get her portable regeneration unit in here, the better."

Finally able to see again, Kathryn turned her eyes towards the line of biobeds. A smile drew over her face at the sight of Harry Kim and Tal Celes cuddled together on the middle biobed. B'Elanna was curled on her own, and Tom was asleep in two chairs beside her, his arm propped up on the biobed and his hand held loosely in B'Elanna's. The Captain turned her head to view the surgical suite and her protege in it, her mouth opening to ask the Doctor another question of her wellbeing. Instead, she let out a surprised, " _Guh_." Chakotay was asleep on a stool by the head of Seven's biobed, sharing the same pllow. Cleaned up, he wore the same hospital scrubs the others had, the drawstrings at his waist hanging down to sway in the breeze from the HVAC vent behind the sugical biobed. One of his arms hung limp at his side, the other was laid out along Seven's, their fingers laced together and laid on her stomach.

The Captain was across the bay and at the side of the surgical biobed in three long steps, reaching a hand out and placing it on Chakotay's shoulder. "Chakotay."

The commander barely moved, his hand tightening over Seven's as he let out a sleepy sigh. After another pat on the shoulder from Kathryn, he finally lifted his head up to see who had disturbed him. "Hmm?" he hummed, his empty hand coming up to rub over his face. "What?"

"Chakotay, wha-"

Chakotay cut her off, sitting up with a groan and looking over to the Doctor as the EMH approached. "Doc?"

The Doctor gave him a patient smile, pulling out his tricorder and running it over Seven's unconscious body. "Still the same." he said to the commander. "She's still as stable as the last four times you asked."

Nodding once in acceptance, Chakotay released Seven's hand to raise his arms over his head in a stretch, popping his aching shoulders. "Thank you, Doctor."

Kathryn tried to keep the surprise off of her face at his concern. "I'm sure the Doctor has everything under control, Chakotay." she said.

"I hope so." muttered the man, again rubbing his hands wearily over his face. He briefly met her eyes before turning to look at B'Elanna and Tom behind them, then Harry and Tal on the other side, following the Doctor with his eyes as the EMH briefly ran his scanner over each patient. Assured they were fine, he turned his attention back to the blonde before him.

"The Doctor is confident she will recover." Kathryn said, gesturing down at her protege.

Chakotay sighed again, a tired sound. "Yeah. It was pretty bad. She nearly bled out. We barely made it back with our lives."

Kathryn held back her frown. "Perhaps we should go to the ready room while the Doctor tends to the others. That way, we won't wake them." she said. "We can begin your debrief-"

"No." Chakotay shook his head. "I'm staying here until she wakes up."

The frown showed itself as Kathryn let out a frustrated sigh. "I can appreciate the two of you becoming a little closer through the stress of-" Chakotay cut her off with a dark chuckle, his eyes flashing to her own for a second before setting back onto Seven's face.

"Stress?" He snorted, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Seven's forehead. "You have no idea."

Behind them, B'Elanna grunted, groggily opening her eyes and rubbing a hand over her belly. "No, please, _bangwI'_... go to sleep..." she murmured. Following a yawn, she rearranged her legs before glancing at the surgical suite. "Chakotay? How is she?"

"Same." answered Chakotay.

"How are you?" she asked.

He sighed through his nose. "Same."

"Seven's tough. She'll be fine." said the half-Klingon, closing her eyes and pulling her blanket back up around her shoulders.

"Good." Chakotay said resolutely. "If she lives through this, I'm asking her to marry me."

B'Elanna's eyes shot back open, her head jerking back over to look at them as she gasped. " _¿De veras?_ "

" _Sí._ " Chakotay nodded once.

" _Dios mío!_ " the engineer laughed. "She better say yes!"

Kathryn was not so thrilled. "She better not anything!" said the surprised captain, looking wide-eyed between the two ex-Maquis before settling a scowl on Chakotay. "Explain yourself!"

Chakotay only smirked at her, his hand reaching out and re-lacing his fingers with Seven's. "I thought that came through pretty straight forward, Captain."

"Does the Doctor need to scan your head?" Kathryn half-sputtered, her eyes darting from his face to Seven's and back. "Why in the world would-"

"Kathryn, we've been dating." Chakotay answered with a shrug, leaning back down and resting his free arm on the biobed beside Seven's head, his tiredness showing. "For a while now."

"Dating? You and Seven?"

"For the record, it was a surprise to me, too." B'Elanna commented with a snort from her bed. She ignored the irritated look from the Captain, bringing Tom's hand in hers up to her lips, hiding the smirking smile.

"Yes, me and Seven." confirmed Chakotay.

"Since when?!"

Tom snorted in his sleep, his body jerking at the sudden noise before relaxing back into sleep. Behind B'Elanna's biobed, Harry and Tal both shifted, reacting to the Captain's raised voice.

The Doctor held his hands up placatingly. "Would you please continue this conversation in my office so that my patients can recover in peace?" He gestured back to the open office door.

Kathryn scowled, turning back to her first officer before nodding towards the office. "Follow me, Commander."

Chakotay rolled his eyes before carefully standing from his stool. He gingerly applied pressure to his throbbing foot, and when it held, slowly followed behind the Captain, tightening the drawstring of his scrub bottoms. The Doctor watched him with a concerned look, turning his attention back to Seven in his absence.

Inside the office, Kathryn leaned back against the Doctor's desk, arms crossed over her chest, legs crossed at the ankle- the picture of feigning strength through unease. "Well?" she prompted.

"Well, what?" he asked, positioning himself to be able to see Seven's biobed through the glass.

"How about you tell me what went on down on the planet?" she began. After a second she shook her head, waving one arm back towards the biobeds outside of the glass. "How about you tell me about you and Seven?"

"Seven and I are none of your business, Kathryn." Chakotay crossed his own arms, leaning on his good foot and the doorway.

"Seven is my business."

"Seven is a grown woman and can make her own decisions."

"So it was her decision to enter into a relationship with you, then? Kathryn's scowl deepened. "And there was no pressure from you to-"

"To what?!" Chakotay turned his head back towards his captain, a dark glower on his face. "I'm too tired for this, Kathryn."

"You know as well as I do how impressionable Seven-"

"Are you kidding me? She's as stubborn as a Klingon!"

"I heard that!" B'Elanna's voice called out in the quiet sickbay.

 **XXX**

In the surgical suite, Seven turned her head, the foggy feeling keeping her asleep beginning to lift. She squeezed her hand into a loose fist, wondering briefly why it felt so empty, the warmth evaporating away from it like raindrops against a sizzling hot warp coil. It was a few precious moments before she finally managed to slit open her eyes. Wincing at the brightness, she listened to the sounds of Chakotay and the Captain arguing while her vision adjusted. Everything sounded like she was underwater- the loudest thing she could hear being her heartbeat speeding up in her ear. "Cha.." she managed through her raw throat.

"Seven?"

B'Elanna's voice pulled her attention, and she focused her eyes on the half-Klingon beginning to sit up in the biobed beside her. "Lanna.. where is..?" she croaked, trying to get her elbow beneath her enough to prop herself up.

"-anyway, if you want a detailed account, you will have to wait for my-" Across the room, Chakotay caught her movement, cutting off his words and turning bodily away from the Captain. Before she could protest, he was on his way towards the surgical suite as Seven managed to lean herself up. "Seven!" He made it across the bay before her name was even fully past his lips, leaning up on the side of the biobed and putting his hands on her shoulders. "We made it, Seven!" His voice was a hushed whisper, helping her to sit up. "We made it!"

The blonde sagged against him, tucking her head against his collar bone as she drew her arms up around his neck. "What happened?"

"Big monsters." B'Elanna said beside them. "You passed out. It's over now."

Briefly, confusing visions of mirror images watching them through the clear windows of the cockpit danced behind her eyes- the expression of terror on her friends' faces- the sound of fear in their voices. She pushed away from Chakotay enough to look up into his face, her fingers coming to cup his full cheeks. "You are okay? You are undamaged?"

Chakotay nodded. "Yeah, the Doctor and Tom patched me-"

Seven cut him off, leaning up and pressing her lips to his. Her hands moved from cupping his cheeks to raking through his hair as she poured her relief into him. His hands slipped down from her shoulders to encircle her waist as he felt her pull back. Her eyes raked over his face again, searching for any sign of damage. Seeing none, she placed another feather light peck on his mouth before tucking her head against his collar bone once more. "I'm so happy we made it." she said softly, letting her eyes slide shut. Everything was still a bit foggy.

"Snugglebunny is back." teased B'Elanna, sitting up on her biobed. "Good to have ya back, Seven."

The blonde turned her head towards the half-Klingon, her eyes slitting open as a smile lit up her face. "Glad to be back."

"Seven," Kathryn said, trying to shove her surprise at the scene before her to the back of her mind. "How are you feeling?"

Behind her, the Doctor rushed over with a tricorder in his hands, scanner out to wave over the ex-drone cuddled against Chakotay. "I wondered if I'd ever see those baby blues of yours again, Seven." said the Doctor. "You gave us all quite a fright."

"I.. I apologize-" Seven frowned.

"Doc." Chakotay's voice was a quiet warning.

"Nothing to apologize for." said the Doctor, ignoring the commander. "How do you feel? Any pain?"

"No pain." answered Seven. "But I am tired. Weak."

"Yes, you will need to regenerate." nodded the EMH, putting the little scanner back into its slot on the tricorder.

Seven pulled her left arm back from Chakotay's neck, nodding to the silver cord connecting her Borg-enhanced arm to the biobed. "I am, am I not?"

"You will require at least seventy-two hours in your alcove." The Doctor's voice was gentle as he reached out and carefully disconnected the cable. As soon as Seven opened her mouth to protest, he cut her off with a soft, "Uh-uh-uh, Seven." A full-on pout crossed the blonde's face before it was hidden by her scowl. "But, you are yet too weak to be released from sickbay. We are waiting on the shuttle to be beamed up, and your portable unit brought to us. I want to be able to monitor you closely to make sure that your implants are all properly stabilized. You taxed them quite to the limit down there."

Kathryn blanched. "Will there be lasting damage?"

"Damage?" Seven sat up straight, her hands leaving Chakotay to rub down her stomach and sides, assessing for herself if anything worse was wrong.

"No, no damage." The Doctor managed to give the Captain a chastising expression that deepened when she outright ignored it, instead pouncing on his patient the second she was disconnected from Chakotay.

"Are you sure you feel alright?" asked Kathryn, her hands reaching out to take hold of Seven's. When Seven looked up at her, she gave her a warm, motherly smile.

"Besides the weakness," Seven began, pulling one hand back to cover a yawn, "I am functioning.. near parameters.."

"You should try to rest." said the EMH. "I know that sleep is difficult for you, but-"

"I had no trouble sleeping on the planet." Seven interrupted with a frown.

"She snored loud enough to wake the dead." teased B'Elanna.

Seven was not so tired as to ignore the jibe. "I do not snore!"

"And I have a smooth forehead." laughed the pregnant half-Klingon.

"You don't snore." Chakotay assured with a quiet chuckle, taking her free hand back in his own. "But you should listen to the Doctor, Querida. You should rest."

"I've rested for days." There was a definite pout to her lips now, but she was too tired to reign it in and school her features. She gently shook her hand free of Kathryn's hold, returning it to Chakotay's to be warmed between his.

"The sooner you rest, the sooner you may return to active duty." added the EMH. "And the sooner you can return to Icheb and his lessons." He smiled, clicking a small pinkish tube into the end of a hypospray. "Biology is my forte.. He needs your expertise with the astrometrics portion. I fear I am of little help."

The blonde's eyes widened. "Icheb! Where is Icheb?"

"He's helping to bring the shuttle aboard so we can retrieve your portable-" Chakotay began.

"The shuttle?!" Seven yanked her hands back, bracing her body with them and trying to swing her legs off of the biobed. "Unacceptable! I'll have him no where near that-" Chakotay easily caught her by the waist, holding her from slipping off of the bed. "Chakotay! _¡Libérame!_ "

"Calm down, Querida." he said gently into her ear, pulling her back flush beside him. "He's not on the planet- he's working from Voyager. _Su hijo es seguro._ "

" _¿Prometes?_ " She relaxed back against his side when he nodded.

"This handy-dandy concoction will help your nanoprobes to replicate." said the Doctor, twirling his hypo in the air with a self-satisfied flourish. "It may sting going in, but I'm afraid it cannot be helped." He waited for her nod, and the turn of her head before pressing the little nozzle to Seven's neck. The medicine injected with a quick hiss. Satisfied, he placed the instrument back on its tray. "Now, a few more hours of sleep until we get your unit back should do you. I will inform Icheb that you have awoken."

"Thank you, Doctor." Seven gave him a small smile, leaning her head against Chakotay's shoulder.

Kathryn still warily watched their interactions. For now, the ex-drone seemed surprisingly comfortable curled up on the biobed next to her first officer. It was the most human she had ever seemed- her hair down and her eyes bright despite her obvious fatigue. For now, she would let Chakotay's words slide off of her back, but later... she was already planning to have Seven come to her quarters for dinner and a little heart to heart. It had been too long since they had had a good philosophical discussion. "Well, since the Doctor says you need some rest, Seven, I will leave you all to it." she said with a smile, reaching out and giving her protege's knee a motherly pat. "Glad to have you back."

Seven returned her smile, the expression lighting up her face. "I'm glad to be back, Captain." She brought one hand up to cover her mouth as a yawn crept up on her.

"Time to go to sleep, Bunny." said B'Elanna from her biobed, automatically moving onto her back as the Doctor approached her with his tricorder. "We can write out our reports in the morning. I'll tell you what you missed." she teased.

"I'm not entirely sure I wish to know." The drowsy blonde hid another yawn.

As the Captain turned to walk to the doors, they slid open. In slipped the bushy-haired professor who stopped short with a jump when he saw the Captain. His eyebrows wiggled before drawing down, irritated at having been caught. "Captain."

"Professor." returned Kathryn, hands on her hips. "I thought we discussed this."

"You discussed this." he corrected. "This is my life's work!"

"These are my patients." countered the Doctor, pausing his palpation of B'Elanna's stomach to turn an irritated glare on the professor. "It's the middle of the night."

"They are awake." pointed out the professor.

"It doesn't matter." Kathryn said, clicking her badge. "Captain to Ayala."

 ***** _"Ayala here, Captain."_ *****

"Lose somebody?" she asked.

 ***** _"No, ma'am. The professor is right here in the bathroom with... Never mind. Where are you?"_ *****

"I'll give you three guesses."

 ***** _"..on my way, Captain."_ *****

Professor Menton held his hands up placatingly. "Now, Captain, if someone was standing between you and the answers to all your burning questions-"

"I would follow the orders of the Captain of the ship I am a guest aboard, and wait however impatiently in the area designated for me until I am able to ask my 'burning' questions." said Kathryn, command voice firm and mask fully on. "Some of your knowledge has been helpful, but if you cannot follow the rules, I have no qualms with confining you to quarters until we return to your planet."

Professor Menton stood to his full height, towering over the Captain by all of two inches. "On my planet, we do not treat our visitors this way."

"We aren't on your planet." said the Doctor, finishing with B'Elanna and walking up to the Captain's side. "This is a sickbay- not a petting zoo."

Before the bushy Tinvarii could bristle, the sickbay doors again swished open. This time Ayala filed inside next to a smiling Icheb carrying a data PADD. Ayala made a bee-line for the Captain and his escapee. Icheb paused for just a second before he realized that Seven was awake and smiling at him from across the bay. Whatever he had been about to say was forgotten as he quickly slipped past the Captain and Doctor.

"Icheb." Seven said by way of greeting, sitting up a little straighter at his approach. "I was unable to adapt to your absence on the planet." she said to him. "Though I am thankful you did not accompany us on this particular mission."

Icheb smiled back at her. "I missed you, too." he said, stepping up so that he was nearly leaned against her biobed.

Seven reached out and plucked a bit of dust off of his shirt. "It is the middle of the night. Why are you not regenerating?"

"I was helping Ensign Wildman and her team of science officers to beam the Flyer back on board." he answered a bit sheepishly, his smile tempering into a soft smirk as he held the PADD up. "In fact, I came to bring the report to the Captain myself. They're about to beam it on board now. We can get your portable regeneration unit."

"That's great!" said Chakotay, clapping a hand affectionately on Icheb's shoulder.

"They're beaming aboard the shuttle?" The Professor's bushy eyebrows danced over his eyes. "Now?"

 ***** _"Ensign Wildman to Captain Janeway."_ ***** Samantha's voice was its usual calm and collected, but the volume was respectfully lowered for the late hour.

Kathryn sighed, crossing her arms. "Yes, Ensign?"

 ***** _"We're beaming the Flyer aboard now, Captain."_ ***** said Samantha. ***** _"It is in the shuttle bay... they've just gotten it."_ *****

"Thank you, Samantha." said the Captain, "Have a security team head down there-"

Icheb gently butted in. "I should go, too, Captain." he said, turning to see her behind him. "I can retrieve Seven's unit."

"I'll go with you." said Chakotay, gently releasing Seven to slide off the biobed.

The Doctor stopped him. "You are not released from my care just yet, Commander."

"Captain, I must inspect this shuttle for myself!" the Professor stated emphatically. "I must compare it to what we know of all the others! Allow me to accompany the boy to see the shuttle with my own eyes." He glanced at the occupied biobeds, half their occupants still sleeping. "If I do this, I would be able to put off my interviewing until the morning at least.."

Kathryn scowled. "...Very well. Ayala, accompany him, if you will."

"Yes, Captain." Roberto said, fingering the little phaser strapped to his side, picturing the professor giving him a reason to play with its stun settings. "Professor?" The old man nearly yipped for joy and excitement.

"I know where her unit is." Chakotay argued with the Doctor.

"Then tell Icheb and allow him to retrieve it in your stead." said the EMH, his tone brooking no argument.

B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "It is in the cockpit, Icheb." she said. "Should be under tactical."

The teen smiled at her with a nod. "Thank you, Lieutenant. He glanced back at Seven. "I will return."

"Thank you, Icheb."

"Off with you then." the Doctor said to the young man, his attention on Chakotay, catching him beginning to slide off. "Commander, I must insist-"

"You three go on ahead." the Captain said to Ayala, Icheb, and the professor. "I will have Tuvok send a team along behind you."

Ayala nodded, turning and leading the other two out of sickbay.

 **XXX**

The turbolift came to a soft stop on Deck 10, its doors hissing open to reveal the long, brightly lit corridor that lead past the Main Computer Core, the Photon Torpedo Launchers, and the main manual Navigational Deflector controls before turning at a right angle and curving back into the Main Shuttlebay. Ayala was the first out, ignoring the excited professor chattering at the equally closed off teenager as they followed him down the hallway.

"This is an exceptional opportunity!" the professor was saying to Icheb. "We could be making Tinvariian history today!"

"Yes, professor." Icheb replied warily. The older man didn't pick up on his tone, continuing to speak a mile a minute.

They were three quarters of the way down towards the end of the first corridor, when Chakotay stepped around the far corner, tugging his uniform jacket at his wrists. " _Roberto._ "

Ayala snorted. "Did you disable the Doctor to beam down here?" he asked with a laugh. "The Captain will hear about it!" Chakotay only smirked, watching them for another few steps before turning and walking out of sight back around the corner. " _¡Nos esperan, Jefe!_ "

"I thought the Doctor wasn't releasing him yet?" Icheb scrunched his nose.

Roberto only snorted again as they rounded the corner to walk the last thirty feet to the open shuttlebay doors. "Tell that to Chakotay." Again he called out ahead. " _Jefe!_ "

" _HEY, GUYS?_ "

 **XXX The End? XXX**

 **Well? What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!**

 **~LM**

 **Translations:**

 **"Ah'no peldar aka rokaya!" - Bajoran- "I'm happy to see you!"  
¡Locos extraterrestres!- Spanish- Crazy aliens!  
bangwI'- Klingon- baby  
¿De veras?- Spanish- Really?  
¡Libérame!- Spanish- Release me!  
Su hijo es seguro.- Spanish- Your boy is safe.  
¿Prometes?- Spanish- Promise?  
¡Nos esperan, Jefe!- Spanish- Wait for us, chief!  
**


End file.
